Fallout 4 | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Bethesda Game Studios [a] |
Publisher(s) | Bethesda Softworks |
Director(s) | Todd Howard |
Producer(s) |
|
Designer(s) | Emil Pagliarulo |
Programmer(s) | Guy Carver |
Artist(s) | Istvan Pely |
Writer(s) | Emil Pagliarulo |
Composer(s) | Inon Zur |
Series | Fallout |
Engine | Creation Engine |
Platform(s) | |
Release | November 10, 2015
|
Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Fallout 4 is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game is set within an open world post-apocalyptic environment that encompasses the city of Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region known as "The Commonwealth".
The main story takes place in the year 2287, 10 years after the events of Fallout 3 and 210 years after "The Great War", which caused a nuclear holocaust. The player assumes control of a character simply referred to as the "Sole Survivor", who emerges from a long-term cryogenic stasis in Vault 111, an underground nuclear fallout shelter. After witnessing the murder of their spouse and the kidnapping of their son, the Sole Survivor ventures out into the Commonwealth to search for their missing child. The player explores the game's dilapidated world, completes various quests, helps out various factions, and acquires experience points to level up and increase the abilities of their character. New features to the series include the ability to develop and manage settlements and an extensive crafting system where materials scavenged from the environment can be used to craft explosives, upgrade weapons and armor, and construct, furnish, and improve settlements. Fallout 4 is the first game in the series to feature a fully-voiced protagonist.
Fallout 4 received positive reviews from critics, with many praising the world depth, player freedom, overall amount of content, crafting, story, characters, and soundtrack. Criticism was mainly directed at the game's simplified role-playing elements compared to its predecessors and technical issues. The game shipped 12 million units to retailers, which generated $750 million within the first 24 hours of its launch. It received numerous accolades from various gaming publications and award events, including the respective awards for Game of the Year and Best Game at the D.I.C.E. Awards and British Academy Games Awards. Bethesda has released six downloadable content add-ons, including the expansions Far Harbor and Nuka-World .
Fallout 4 is an action role-playing game set in an open world environment. Gameplay is similar to that of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas , the two previous primary iterations in the series. However, unlike the previous two titles, the gun-gameplay was handled by id Software. [1] Returning features include a camera that can switch between a first-person and third-person perspective. Fallout 4 introduces features including a layered armor system, base-building, a dialogue system featuring 111,000 lines of dialogue, [2] and a crafting system which implements every lootable object in the game. Enemies such as Mole Rats, Raiders, Super Mutants, Deathclaws, and Feral Ghouls return along with the companion Dogmeat. [3]
The player can freely roam in the game's world and leave a conversation at any time. If the player has discovered a certain location they may fast travel to it, unless playing on "Survival Difficulty" in which fast traveling is disabled. Weapons can be customized; the game includes over 50 guns, which can be crafted with a variety of modifications, such as receivers, barrel types, and laser focusers, with over 700 modifications available. Power Armor has been redesigned to be more like a vehicle than a suit of armor, requiring fusion cores and being essentially dead weight without it [4] [ better source needed ] and can be modified, allowing the player to add items such as a jetpack or selecting separate types of armor plating for each part of the suit. [5]
A new feature of the series is the ability to craft and deconstruct settlements and buildings. The player can select and break down many in-game objects and structures, and use the resultant raw materials to freely build their own structures. In addition, the towns can be powered with working electricity, using a power line system. Merchants and non-player characters can inhabit the player's settlements, for which the player must provide sustenance by growing food in makeshift patches and building water pumps. The player can build various defenses around their settlements, such as turrets traps, and bombs, to defend against random attacks. [6]
The Pip-Boy, a personal computing device strapped to the player character's wrist, allows the player to access a menu with statistics, maps, data, and items the player has acquired. The player can find game cartridges, called Holotapes, which can be played on the Pip-Boy or a terminal. A new feature for the Pip-Boy interface is a downloadable application for iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones and tablets. This optional app allows players to access the Pip-Boy interface on a separate screen, and play the collected game cartridges when not playing the main game. Another returning gameplay feature is the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.). While using V.A.T.S., real-time combat is slowed down (instead of stopped entirely as in previous entries), and action is played out from varying camera angles in a computer graphics version of "bullet time". Various actions, including firing shots in V.A.T.S., expend the Sole Survivor's supply of Action points, limiting what a player can do in a certain period. While in V.A.T.S., the player can target individual body parts with attacks to inflict specific injuries; headshots can be used for quick kills or to blind, legs can be targeted to slow enemy movement, and opponents can be disarmed by shooting at their weapons. Unlike previous games, in which the player had a random chance to inflict a critical hit, they are now performed manually through V.A.T.S. [7]
At the beginning of the game, players are given points to spend on a character progression system called S.P.E.C.I.A.L. The system represents seven statistics, namely strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. When the player earns enough experience points to gain a level, they unlock an ability. When the player allocates more points to a statistic, more abilities can be unlocked. These perks can be upgraded to improve the protagonist's efficiency and to further unlock abilities. [8] There are about 275 perks available for the player to unlock. There is a soft level cap of 65535 and the game does not end once the main story is complete. [9]
The player may travel with only one companion at a time, although other characters accompany the player in certain quests. These companions can interact with the environment on the player character's behalf. For example, if the player character does not have the required skills to hack a terminal or pick a lock, they can order the companion to do it for them. Any companion present besides Dogmeat will react to certain player actions in one of four ways (love, like, dislike, or hate), which either raises or lowers their "affinity". Raising a companion's affinity to 1,000 points will result in them "idolizing" the player and granting a specific perk. Partnership with companions is also possible at higher affinities. The companion will leave if affinity drops low enough, and some actions can turn them hostile on sight.
Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, 10 years after the events of Fallout 3 and 210 years after the Great War, a war between the United States and China over natural resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in 2077. The setting is post-apocalyptic, covering a region that includes Boston and other parts of New England known as "The Commonwealth". Unlike the previous titles, Fallout 4's story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077.
The game takes place in an alternate version of history that features 1940s and 1950s aesthetics, such as diners and a drive-in theater, while design and technologies advance in the directions imagined during the era. The resulting universe is thus a retro-futuristic one, where the technology has evolved enough to produce laser weapons, manipulate genes and create nearly-autonomous artificial intelligence, all within the confines of 1950s' technology such as the widespread use of atomic power and vacuum tubes, as well as having the integrated circuitry of the digital age. The architecture, advertisements, and general living styles are depicted to be largely unchanged since the 1950s, while including contemporary products, such as a robotic rocking horse for children in one advertisement, or posters for the underground Vaults that play a central role in the storyline of the game.[ citation needed ]
There are four main factions that the player can choose to support throughout the story; the Institute, a secretive organization that specializes in the creation of artificial humanoids called "synths", the Brotherhood of Steel, an anti-synth faction hoping to preserve and control technology in the Commonwealth; the Minutemen, a faction that aims to drive out raiders and other threats out of the Commonwealth; and the Railroad, a secretive organization dedicated to rescuing synths from the Institute.
The player's character (voiced by either Brian T. Delaney or Courtenay Taylor) takes shelter in Vault 111, emerging exactly 210 years later on October 23, 2287, and assuming the name of the "Sole Survivor". [10] There are thirteen possible companions in the story. Dogmeat, a loyal German Shepherd, is the only mandatory companion, but six others must at least be encountered; Codsworth (Stephen Russell), the Sole Survivor's robot butler; Deacon (Ryan Alosio), a Railroad agent; John Hancock (Danny Shorago), the mayor of Goodneighbor; Nick Valentine (Stephen Russell), a synth detective; Piper Wright (Courtney Ford), an intrepid reporter; and Preston Garvey (Jon Gentry), the resilient leader of the Minutemen. The other six possible companions are Cait (Katy Townsend), an Irish-accented cage fighter; Curie (Sophie Simone Cortina), a robot scientist turned Synth; Danse (Peter Jessop), a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin and Synth; MacCready (Matthew Mercer), a mercenary; Strong (Sean Schemmel), a human-sympathetic Super Mutant; and X6-88 (David Paluck), an Institute Courser.
Seven of the companions become romance options once they idolize the Sole Survivor, regardless of the gender of the player character: Cait, Curie, Danse, Hancock, MacCready, Piper, and Preston. [11]
In the Commonwealth during the year 2077, the protagonist and their family—consisting of their husband Nate (Brian T. Delaney) or wife Nora (Courtenay Taylor), depending on the player's chosen sex, and their baby son Shaun—escape into Vault 111, gaining entry due to a Vault-Tec representative signing them up for it immediately prior to a nuclear attack. Inside, the family members are tricked into entering cryogenic tubes and frozen alive. 150 years later, the protagonist's spouse is killed and Shaun is taken away by a mysterious group. The life support system malfunctions at a later date and unfreezes the protagonist, who leaves their tube to find the remaining residents of Vault 111 deceased, gaining the nickname of the "Sole Survivor". They return home and reunite with their former robot butler Codsworth (Stephen Russell), who reveals that a total of 210 years have passed since the nuclear attack. At Codsworth's suggestion, the Sole Survivor reaches the nearby town of Concord, befriending a dog named Dogmeat (River) and a member of a revived version of the Minutemen named Preston Garvey (Jon Gentry).
In Diamond City, the Sole Survivor learns that an organization called the Institute has been terrifying the Commonwealth by kidnapping humans and replacing them with Synths, humanoid robots who are indistinguishable from real humans. After rescuing android private detective Nick Valentine (Russell), the Sole Survivor uncovers the identity of their spouse's killer as Conrad Kellogg (Keythe Farley). The Sole Survivor hunts down Kellogg and kills him, though Kellogg spends his last moments revealing that Shaun is being held in the Institute. The Sole Survivor steals a cybernetic device from Kellogg's brain to access his memories with the help of Dr. Amari (Meher Tatna). Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Steel arrives in the Commonwealth, and a former Institute employee instructs the Sole Survivor to craft a teleportation device required to infiltrate the Institute. With the help of the Railroad, an underground movement aiming to free Synths from the Institute, the Sole Survivor retrieves a chip and has it decoded. After successfully crafting the teleportation device, the Sole Survivor enters the Institute.
The Sole Survivor meets a much older Shaun (Tony Amendola), who is revealed to have become the Institute's director and explains that his abduction 60 years ago was part of a Synth experiment due to his pre-war DNA. Should the Sole Survivor choose to align themselves with Shaun, they learn that Shaun is dying of cancer and agree to his request that they succeed him as the Institute's director, helping him track down and re-enslave escaped Synths. Should the Sole Survivor refuse to join Shaun, they engage in combat against Shaun and the entire Institute with the help of various other anti-Institute factions; the Sole Survivor then detonates a nuclear reactor, destroying the Institute. If the Sole Survivor officially joined the Minutemen earlier in the game, the Minutemen would help them wipe out the other factions.
The initial plans for Fallout 4 were formed in 2009, when director Todd Howard wanted to explore the world of Fallout before the bombs fell. Thus, a team began production on the game that year, including Istvan Pely, lead artist of Fallout 3 , after finishing that game's downloadable content (DLC). Meanwhile, development on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had Bethesda's full attention, and after that game was released in 2011, the studio continued to regularly support it until 2013 with updates and DLC. After that content was finished, Fallout 4 entered full production from mid-2013 to mid-2015. [12]
Unlike the previous two titles—Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas —which used the Gamebryo engine, Fallout 4 uses the Creation Engine, which was used in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim . Modified for Fallout 4, the Creation Engine includes a revamped character editor system that allows freeform creation of faces without the use of sliders seen in previous games. Instead, the player can click and drag each feature of the face to accurately customize their character, which can either be a man or woman as the previous Fallout titles have featured. [13] Bethesda announced that the game would run at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. [14] Bethesda revealed that mobile devices would be integrated into the game as a form of second screen, acting as a secondary display for the Pip-Boy. [15]
For the first time in the Fallout series, the player's character, the Sole Survivor, is fully voice-acted, including all decision-based dialogue options. [16] Brian T. Delaney and Courtenay Taylor are the two player character voice actors. [17]
Todd Howard revealed that mods for the PC versions of the game would be usable on the Xbox One version and that the team hoped to bring them to the PlayStation 4 version eventually. [18] [19] When asked about the failed effort to add a paid mod system to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , Howard stated there were no plans for a similar effort with Fallout 4. [20] The mods created by PC players through The Creation Kit, which contains the official modding tools, were released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in May 2016 and November 2016 respectively. [21] [22] [23] [24]
Fallout 4 uses Bethesda's Creation Engine, which was created for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. [25]
Dynamic lighting allows shadows to be created by any structure or item in the game world. Howard stated in the E3 2015 Press Conference that the updated Creation Engine allows for next-generation god rays and advanced volumetric lighting.[ vague ] The engine features a variety of visual effects not present in previous Bethesda games such as motion blur, temporal anti-aliasing, height fog, dynamic dismemberment, screen space reflections, filmic tone mapping, an updated material system—for wet textures—among numerous others. [26] The engine allows the Bethesda team to add more dynamic lighting to every scene as well as "paint surfaces with realistic materials". [27] Bethesda released an example on how the engine works: "When a rain storm rolls in, our new material system allows the surfaces of the world to get wet, and a new cloth simulation system makes cloth, hair, and vegetation blow in the wind." [28]
The updated Creation Engine allows for a more advanced character creation system, which uses sculpting—forgoing the series of sliders present in previous games. In detail, the new character creation system introduces a new, freeform, slider-free facial editor controlled via a dynamic, real-time modeling interface. [29]
With regards to the aforementioned fluid animations, the updated engine also allows a much more open approach to conversations with NPCs—wherein the camera views can change depending on the player's preference from a first-person view to a cinematic third-person view—compared to Fallout 3's rigid and instanced conversation system. The protagonist features dynamic dialogue, which is context-sensitive and allows players to back out of a conversation. In Howard's words, "You are free to walk away anytime if you want, or you can even shoot him in the face." [30]
On June 2, 2015, Bethesda published a countdown timer scheduled to expire on June 3, 2015, at 14:00 UTC. [31] The game's website went live slightly ahead of schedule, revealing the game along with its box art and platforms. [32] [33] The site was taken down later but was put back up again at the scheduled time. The trailer was released when the countdown timer expired, [4] and the game was confirmed to take place in Boston and its surrounding Massachusetts countryside, as suggested by earlier rumors. [34] [35] More details were given during Bethesda's E3 2015 press conference on June 14, 2015. [36] [37]
Fallout 4 became available for pre-order following the product announcement. In addition to the standard edition of the game, there is a collector's edition which includes a wearable replica of the Pip-Boy. This can house a smartphone device, which can run the second screen functionality of the game. [38] As a pre-order bonus for the Windows version of the game, an announcer pack featuring the voice of Mister Handy was released for the multiplayer online battle arena game, Dota 2 , developed by Valve. [39] Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 had gone gold on October 23, 2015. [40] The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 10, 2015. [41]
After Fallout 4's release, Bethesda has released several patches to address some of the issues that were present at the game's launch along with presenting features that improve general gameplay. The first patch—coded as patch 1.2—fine-tuned the game by improving the frame rate. Patch 1.2 fixed a few bugs and errors present at the launch of the game but interfered with unofficial mod support. [42] [43] Patch 1.3 improved the game's graphics on all platforms, along with presenting the game with new features such as an added status menu for settlers in settlements. Regarding the graphical updates introduced in this patch, the PC platform was given a new weapon debris effect and a new ambient occlusion setting. The patch fixed several bugs and glitches present in the game. [44] Patch 1.4 was designed to ready the game for the upcoming Creation Kit and downloadable content. Patch 1.4 brought a variety of additions to the settlement building mechanic of the game by adding a symbol to new content placed in by the modding community along with adding a variety of items, such as Raider and Super Mutant decors. The patch also brought general improvements to the game's stability. [45] The 1.5 patch added a revamped survival mode along with support for the downloadable and included bug fixes. [46] Similar to the previous Bethesda games, Fallout 4's fan community-created unofficial patches to address issues and bugs unaddressed by the official patches. [47] [48] [49]
During E3 2016, a virtual reality mode for the game was announced, to be released in 2017. [50] Fallout 4 VR was released as a stand-alone game on December 4, 2017, for PC on the HTC Vive platform. [51]
A performance update for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, allowing higher frame rates and 4K resolution support when played on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, was announced in December 2022. [52] It was planned for release in 2023, but was delayed. [53] Bethesda later announced that the update was reworked into native versions for these platforms. The update was released on April 25, 2024, alongside stability improvements and fixes for existing platforms, ultrawide support for PC, and additional free Creation Club content. [54] However, it also introduced a host of problems for players, including broken mod support and UI issues in ultrawide mode on PC. Quality mode on Xbox also stopped working and settings on Steam Deck were wiped. Those playing the game through PlayStation Plus Extra were initially unable to update their version of the game. [55]
On February 16, 2016, Bethesda announced details, prices, and release dates for the first three add-ons for Fallout 4. [56] [57] The first add-on, Automatron , which allows the player to build their custom robot companion by using robot parts while adding additional quests, was released to the European and North American markets on March 22, 2016. [58] This was followed by Wasteland Workshop on April 12, 2016, which introduces new build options for settlements and the ability for the player to put captured creatures or humans in a cage, and adds new decorations like neon lights and lettering. [59] [60] The third add-on, titled Far Harbor , is a story expansion set in the post-war city of Far Harbor, Maine, and was released on May 19, 2016. [61] [62] [63] On June 12, 2016, at E3 2016, Bethesda revealed three new add-on packages for the game; the first two, Contraptions Workshop, released on June 21, 2016, and Vault-Tec Workshop, released on July 26, 2016, are structured similarly to the Wasteland Workshop add-on, offering the player more build options and decorations; the Vault-Tec Workshop also adds a brief narrative. Fallout 4's third add-on, Nuka-World , which was released on August 30, 2016, adds an amusement park-based area for the player to explore, in which the player can either side with or put an end to various raider groups residing in the park. If the player decides to do the former, they can help one of the raider groups take control of various settlements in the Commonwealth from the base game. [64] [65]
At E3 2017, Bethesda announced that Fallout 4 would support Creation Club, an in-game support system to purchase and download custom content. [66] Creation Club went live in August 2017. [67]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | PC: 84/100 [68] PS4: 87/100 [69] XONE: 88/100 [70] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | 7.5/10 [71] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9/10 [72] |
Game Informer | 9/10 [73] |
GameRevolution | [74] |
GameSpot | 9/10 [75] |
GamesRadar+ | [76] |
GameTrailers | 9/10 [77] |
Giant Bomb | (PC) [78] (Consoles) [79] |
IGN | 9.5/10 [80] |
PC Gamer (US) | 88/100 [81] |
Polygon | 9.5/10 [82] |
VideoGamer.com | 9/10 [83] |
The Guardian | [84] |
Fallout 4 received "generally favorable" reviews on all three platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.
GameSpot's Peter Brown awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, saying "Fallout 4 is an argument for substance over style and an excellent addition to the revered open-world series." Brown praised the "thought-provoking" narrative, "intuitive" creation tools, the large amount of content, the overall combat, and the overall freedom the player is given. [75] Game Informer 's Andrew Reiner scored the game a 9 out of 10 and said: "Bethesda has created another game you can lose your life in. New experiences just keep coming, and you always have another perk to unlock." Reiner praised the "vastly improved" combat, the "denser" world, and the "brilliant" score, but had mixed feelings about the visuals. [73] Dan Stapleton of IGN scored the game a 9.5 out of 10 and wrote: "The world, exploration, crafting, atmosphere, and story of Fallout 4 are all key parts of this hugely successful sandbox role-playing game. (It is) an adventure I'll definitely replay and revisit. Even the technical shakiness that crops up here and there can't even begin to slow down its momentum." [80]
Phil Savage of PC Gamer mentioned that Fallout 4 is "a loving production. It's filled with care and attention to detail" and that it was "a pleasure to pick through the world". He concluded his review by stating "many of Fallout 4's problems, like every Bethesda RPG before it, are a consequence of what makes them unforgettable". [81] Polygon awarded it a score of 9.5 out of 10, saying "Fallout 4 brings great gameplay to match its world and ambiance". [82] Destructoid gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, writing "a lot of the franchise's signature problems have carried over directly into Fallout 4". [85]
Fallout 4 sold 1.2 million units on Steam in its first 24 hours of release. [86] The game also sold more digital than physical units on day one of launch. [87] With almost 470,000 concurrent Steam players on launch day, Fallout 4 broke Grand Theft Auto V 's record for having the most concurrent online players in a Steam game not developed by Valve. [88] Bethesda shipped 12 million units to retailers within the first 24 hours, [89] grossing $750 million. [90]
In February 2017, Pete Hines announced that Fallout 4 had sold more units over the same period than Skyrim, though he did not provide an official number. [91]
Fallout 4 received numerous awards and nominations from gaming publications such as GameSpot , [92] GamesRadar , [93] EGM , [94] GameRevolution , [95] and IGN . [96] [97] The game received "Game of the Year" awards from the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards and the 12th British Academy Games Awards, as well as numerous nominations for the top gaming honor from The Game Awards, [98] The Daily Telegraph , [99] PC Gamer , [100] IGN and more. [101] It was also placed on various lists of the best games of 2015 in which GameSpot put it at sixth, [92] and GamesRadar at fourth. [102] The game also received the "Role-Playing Game of the Year" award from the Game Critics Awards and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. [101] [103]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Game Critic Awards 2015 | Best of Show | Fallout 4 | Won | [101] |
Best PC Game | Fallout 4 | Won | |||
Best Role Playing Game | Fallout 4 | Won | |||
33rd Golden Joystick Awards | Most Wanted Game | Fallout 4 | Won | [104] | |
The Game Awards 2015 | Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Nominated | [105] | |
Best Score/Soundtrack | Inon Zur | Nominated | |||
Best Role Playing Game | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
2016 | 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Won | [106] |
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction | Fallout 4 | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement in Story | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
16th Game Developers Choice Awards | Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Nominated | [107] | |
Best Design | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Best Technology | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
2016 SXSW Gaming Awards | Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Nominated | [108] | |
Excellence in Technical Achievement | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Excellence in Design | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
15th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards | Game of the Year | Fallout 4 | Nominated | [109] | |
Animation, Artistic | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Art Direction, Period Influence | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Art Direction, Contemporary | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Camera Direction in a Game Engine | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Character Design | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Costume Design | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Direction in a Game Cinema | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Game Design, Franchise | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Game Engineering | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Graphics, Technical | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Performance in a Drama, Lead | Brian T. Delaney as "Male Player Character" | Nominated | |||
Performance in a Drama, Supporting | Stephen Russell as "Codsworth/Nick Valentine" | Nominated | |||
Song, Original or Adapted | "Good Neighbor" | Nominated | |||
Song Collection | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Sound Editing in a Game Cinema | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Sound Effects | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Use of Sound, Franchise | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Writing in a Drama | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
Game, Franchise Role Playing | Fallout 4 | Nominated | |||
12th British Academy Games Awards | Best Game | Fallout 4 | Won | [110] | |
Music | Inon Zur | Nominated | |||
2017 | Game Critics Awards 2017 | Best VR Game | Fallout 4 VR | Nominated | [111] |
Gamescom 2017 | Best Virtual Reality Game | Fallout 4 VR | Won | [112] | |
2018 | 17th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards | Control Design, VR | Fallout 4 VR | Nominated | [113] [114] |
Direction in Virtual Reality | Fallout 4 VR | Nominated | |||
Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality | Fallout 4 VR | Nominated |
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Media in 2019 over its downloadable content (DLC). The suit asserted that the Season Pass was sold as offering "all of the Fallout 4 DLC we ever do" for a single price, but later with the introduction of the Creation Club in 2017, those that purchased the Season Pass have to purchase the Creation Club content if they wished to use it.
During the suit's litigation in court, ZeniMax and Microsoft had announced plans for ZeniMax to be acquired into Xbox Game Studios which was anticipated to close by June 2021. The plaintiffs in the case sought a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition as to prevent Microsoft from shielding ZeniMax's assets should they be found liable in the case, which was expected to be heard in 2022. [115]
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its first 15 years, it was a video game developer and self-published its titles. In 2001, Bethesda spun off its in-house development team into Bethesda Game Studios, leaving Bethesda Softworks to focus on publishing operations.
Fallout is a media franchise of post-apocalyptic role-playing video games created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, at Interplay Entertainment. The series is set during the first half of the 3rd millennium, and its atompunk retrofuturistic setting and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of the 1950s United States, with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. Fallout is regarded as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, a 1988 game developed by Interplay Productions.
The Elder Scrolls is a series of action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on free-form gameplay in an open world. Most games in the series have been critically and commercially successful, with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) all winning Game of the Year awards from multiple outlets. The series has sold more than 59 million copies worldwide.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 1996's The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer province of Morrowind, part of the continent of Tamriel. The central quests concern the demigod Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a 2006 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and co-published by Bethesda Softworks and 2K Games. It is the fourth installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 2002's The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2006, followed by PlayStation 3 in 2007. Taking place within the fictional province of Cyrodiil, the game's main story focuses on the player character's efforts to thwart a fanatical cult known as the Mythic Dawn that plans to open portal gates to a demonic realm known as Oblivion.
Todd Andrew Howard is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series. He was also the game director for Starfield.
Fallout 3 is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the Fallout series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring the rights to the franchise from Interplay Entertainment. The game marks a major shift in the series by using 3D graphics and real-time combat, replacing the 2D isometric graphics and turn-based combat of previous installments. It was released worldwide in October 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
Fallout Shelter is a free-to-play construction and management simulation video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, with assistance by Behaviour Interactive, and published by Bethesda Softworks. Part of the Fallout series, it was released worldwide for iOS devices in June 2015, for Android devices in August 2015, for Windows in July 2016, for Xbox One in February 2017, and for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in June 2018. The game is also available on Tesla vehicles. The game tasks the player with building and effectively managing their own Vault, a fallout shelter.
Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studios opened in 2001 as the development unit of Bethesda Softworks, separating from publishing operations. Todd Howard serves as the studio's executive producer, leading it with managing director Ashley Cheng and studio director Angela Browder. As of November 2023, Bethesda Game Studios had 450 employees.
There are five pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the Bethesda action role-playing video game Fallout 3. Each package of downloadable content adds new missions, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to use. Of the five, Broken Steel has the largest effect on the game, altering the ending, increasing the level cap to 30, and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line. The Game of The Year edition of Fallout 3 includes the full game and all five pieces of downloadable content.
Emil Pagliarulo is an American video game designer who works at Bethesda Game Studios.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011.
Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. A new iteration of the engine, Creation Engine 2, was used to create Starfield. The Creation Engine has been tailor-made for large-scale open-world RPGs.
The Elder Scrolls Online, abbreviated ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is a part of the Elder Scrolls series. It was released for Windows and macOS in April 2014, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2015, and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in June 2021.
There are six pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for Bethesda Game Studios' action role-playing video game Fallout 4. Released once a month from March to August 2016, each expansion pack adds a variety of different content, with Far Harbor being the largest in terms of additional gameplay and Nuka-World being the largest in terms of file size. The season pass contains all six expansion packs, and due to the size of Far Harbor, the price was increased after its release.
Fallout 4: Far Harbor is an expansion pack for the 2015 video game Fallout 4, developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Far Harbor was released on May 19, 2016 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One as downloadable content (DLC). The game is set in the year 2287, in the aftermath of a nuclear war that destroys most of the United States. In the expansion, the player character is hired as a private investigator to search for a missing girl in the isolated seaside community of Far Harbor.
Fallout 4: Nuka-World is an expansion pack for the 2015 post-apocalyptic action role-playing video game Fallout 4. It was developed by Bethesda Game Studios, published by Bethesda Softworks, and released on August 30, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It is set in the eponymous fictional amusement park Nuka-World. As with Fallout 4, Nuka-World can be played in both first-person and third-person perspectives. The player controls the protagonist during their journey through Nuka-World, a former amusement park now divided between warring gangs of raiders. Nuka-World's main gameplay consists of both questing and exploration. Upon completion of quests, the player is rewarded with both the franchise's fictional currency, bottle caps from Nuka-Cola bottles, and experience points.
Skyrimmodding refers to the community-made modifications for the 2011 fantasy role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has nearly 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and 28,000 in the Steam Workshop. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons, patching numerous bugs left in the game by Bethesda Softworks, while also improving the game's usability and character movement. Other mods add new quests and characters, or update the game's graphics and animations. As the vanilla game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod Skyrim even prior to their first playthrough.
Starfield is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. In the game, the player character joins a group of space explorers who must venture to various corners of the galaxy to acquire mysterious artifacts. The game features an open world in the form of an area within the Milky Way galaxy, containing both fictional and non-fictional planetary systems.