Fallout 5 is officially in the works, and it is not coming alone. Bethesda Softworks has confirmed a sweeping slate of Fallout projects, including remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, a major expansion for Fallout 76, and a new game being built at Obsidian Entertainment. After years of relative quiet for the franchise beyond its hit television adaptation, the wasteland is suddenly busy again.
The news came as part of a broad roadmap Bethesda published in July, outlining where its biggest franchises are headed over the coming years. Rather than teasing a single project, the studio used the moment to lay out just how much Fallout work is happening at once across multiple teams.
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What Bethesda actually confirmed
“Bethesda said it has multiple Fallout projects in active development right now,” a statement from the studio explained, though it stopped short of offering release windows for most of them. Fallout 5 was described as the studio’s “long-range destination,” language that suggests fans should not expect it any time soon. Pre-production is underway, but a full production cycle for a game of that scale typically takes years before it reaches players.
Alongside the new mainline entry, Bethesda confirmed a Fallout 76 expansion called Raven Rock, due in 2027. It is pitched as a prequel story tied directly to the events of Fallout 3, giving the long-running online game fresh narrative weight rather than just new zones and gear to grind through.
A separate, unnamed project is also underway at Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind the beloved Fallout: New Vegas. Bethesda did not detail what that game is, only that it exists, which has already set off plenty of speculation among longtime fans about whether it might be another spin-off in the New Vegas mould.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas are getting remastered
The most immediately exciting news for many players is confirmation of remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Both titles have been rumoured for years; evidence of a Fallout 3 remaster first surfaced back in 2020, buried in court documents from the Federal Trade Commission’s litigation over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Bethesda has now put those rumours to rest, though it has not shared a release window or platform list for either remaster.
Fallout 3 originally launched in 2008 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC. It was Bethesda’s first Fallout game after acquiring the license from Interplay Entertainment, moving the series into Washington, D.C., 200 years after a nuclear war, with players hunting for a missing father as a young Vault dweller. Fallout: New Vegas followed in 2010, developed by Obsidian rather than Bethesda’s own team, and shifted the setting to the Mojave Desert, where players took on the role of a courier caught between warring factions.
These remasters follow the template set by The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, released last year through a collaboration between Bethesda Game Studios and Virtuos. That project showed there is real appetite, and real commercial upside, in bringing beloved but ageing RPGs up to modern visual and technical standards. Fallout 4 also received an Anniversary Edition in 2025 to mark its tenth birthday, bundling the base game with all six expansions and more than 150 items from the Fallout 4 Creation Club.
Timeline at a glance
| Project | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fallout 5 | Pre-production | Described as Bethesda’s “long-range destination” |
| Fallout 3 Remaster | Confirmed, no date | Rumoured since 2020 FTC court documents |
| Fallout: New Vegas Remaster | Confirmed, no date | Originally developed by Obsidian in 2010 |
| Fallout 76: Raven Rock | 2027 | Prequel expansion tied to Fallout 3 |
| Obsidian’s new Fallout project | In development | No details shared yet |
No Fallout Day broadcast this year, but a bigger plan for 2027
Bethesda also confirmed there will be no traditional Fallout Day broadcast in 2026. Fallout Day falls on October 23, marking the in-universe date of the Great War that triggers the series’ nuclear apocalypse, and Bethesda has used the occasion for livestreamed announcements in both 2024 and 2025. Instead, the studio says it is saving something bigger for 2027, when Fallout turns 30. That anniversary celebration is planned to take place live in Washington, D.C., a fitting location given how central the city is to Fallout 3’s setting.
Skipping a year of dedicated Fallout Day content is a reasonable trade if it means a more substantial celebration down the line, particularly with Raven Rock also landing in 2027. It suggests Bethesda is treating that year as a genuine milestone moment for the franchise rather than another routine update cycle.
Why this matters for Fallout fans
For a franchise that has gone years between mainline releases, this is the clearest signal yet that Bethesda and its parent company Microsoft see serious long-term value in Fallout, likely bolstered by the success of the Amazon television adaptation. Spreading development across Bethesda Game Studios, Obsidian, and whatever team eventually takes point on Fallout 5 also reduces the risk of another lengthy drought between games.
None of this changes what is available to play today, and Bethesda has been careful not to attach firm dates to its biggest promises. Still, confirmation beats years of rumour. Fans finally have an official roadmap rather than leaked court filings and educated guesses to go on, even if the wait for Fallout 5 itself looks set to continue for a good while yet.
