For an overview of our Fallout 4-related articles, see Portal:Fallout 4.

For the Fallout 4 version with Virtual Reality features, see Fallout 4 VR.

Game Fallout 4 developer Bethesda Game Studios publisher Bethesda Softworks release date November 10, 2015

December 17, 2015 (JP) genre Role-playing game engine Creation Engine modes Single player rating CERO: Z

ESRB: M

OFLC: MA15+

PEGI: 18+

OFLC (NZ): 18+ platforms Microsoft Windows

PlayStation 4

Xbox One media Blu-ray, DVD, digital download system requirements Minimum requirements:

OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)

Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Storage: 30 GB available space

Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent[1] Recommended requirements:

OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)

Processor: Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz/AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalent

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent

Storage: 30 GB available space Console:

28-35 GB free HDD space[1] OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalentMemory: 8 GB RAMStorage: 30 GB available spaceGraphics: NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalentOS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)Processor: Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz/AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalentMemory: 8 GB RAMGraphics: NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalentStorage: 30 GB available space28-35 GB free HDD space Availability PC Steam Xbox Xbox Live PlayStation PSN

Fallout 4 Pre-order boxes, as shown in the trailer Pre-order boxes, as shown in the trailer

“ Welcome home. ”

Fallout 4 is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios[2] and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth major installment in the Fallout series (eighth overall) and was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 10th, 2015, except in Japan, where it was released on December 17, 2015, due to the need to censor some footage and references to atomic war, while still keeping the plot intact.[3]

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Setting and story

The player is the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, who emerges 210 years to the day and time after the Great War. Prior to this, there is a brief period of gameplay during the pre-War era showing the player living with their spouse and child.

The game takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. Famous local landmarks like the Paul Revere Monument, the USS Constitution, as well as the Massachusetts State House with its unique golden dome, are included in the game world. Other notable locations that make an appearance in the game are Scollay Square, renamed Goodneighbor, Bunker Hill, and Fenway Park, which is renamed Diamond City. The events of Fallout 4 occur in 2287; a decade after Fallout 3 and six years after the events of Fallout: New Vegas.

The setting also includes mountains, coastal regions, the outskirts of the city and the downtown Boston area. A large and still inhospitable nuclear blast site called the Glowing Sea is to the southwest. The starting area in the northwest contains low level enemies and is relatively safe, but the enemies get progressively tougher towards the southeast area of the map.

The game features just over 111,000 lines of dialogue, more than all of the dialogue in Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim combined.[4]

Gameplay

The gameplay is largely similar to that of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, with the ability to switch from first to third-person view. Additional features include a split-piece armor system (reminiscent of the armor system in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), base-building, a dynamic dialogue system, an in-depth crafting system that makes use of every lootable object in the game as a source of raw material and more. Enemies such as mole rats, mirelurks, raiders, super mutants, deathclaws, and ghouls return to the series.

The player character, the Sole Survivor, accesses the in-game menus through a Pip-Boy to manage statistics, maps, data, and items. Players can also find game cartridges with retro themed mini-games which can be played on the Pip-Boy. Another returning gameplay feature is the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.), which can play a critical part in combat. While using V.A.T.S, real-time combat is slowed down, and action is played out from varying camera angles in a computer graphics version of "bullet time." Attacking in V.A.T.S. costs action points, limiting the number of actions available at a time, and the player can target specific body areas for attacks to inflict specific injuries; headshots can be used for quick kills or blinding, legs can be targeted to slow enemies' movements, and opponents can be disarmed by shooting at their weapons.

A new equipment system allows a wide variety of upgrades and customization for weapons and armor. Unlike the previous two Fallout games, weapons and armor do not deteriorate with use and no longer require constant maintenance.

A new feature to the series is the ability to build settlements. Within the boundaries of a settlement, players can scrap objects and structures for resources and use them to build their own structures, including housing, vegetable gardens, defenses, stores, and crafting stations. Each settlement can also connect to others by Brahmin caravan, which then share resources. Towns can be powered with electricity, using a dynamic power line system, as well as equipped with water pumps and crops/gardens to keep a steady income of food and drink. Merchants and non-player characters can inhabit player towns and help keep the settlements running as a community. Players can build various defenses around their settlements, such as turrets, guard towers, and traps, to defend the settlements from raids and attacks.

Skills have been removed, replaced with a 7x10 perk chart. At each level-up, the player can acquire a new perk, each with prerequisites based on SPECIAL attributes and level, and most have multiple tiers. A consequence of the new advancement system is that there is no hard level cap, allowing players to experience a little more freedom when it comes to exploring and combat. The player may continue playing even after they have finished all of the main quests, a feature returning from Broken Steel, which allows players to experience the aftermath of their decisions. There are plenty of side quests to pursue, many of which can also be experienced after the main story ends.

Development

Initially, in 2004, Bethesda Softworks licensed from Interplay Entertainment the rights to create and publish three Fallout games (Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4). Later, in 2007, Bethesda purchased the entire franchise, and Interplay licensed back from Bethesda the rights to a Fallout MMORPG. The legal dispute is now over, with Bethesda Softworks and its in-house development studio retaining the rights to all of the Fallout franchise, including an MMO.

In 2009, Bethesda's Pete Hines said, "The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own Fallout is that we clearly intended to make more than one." He also added, "This is not something we're going to do once and then go away and never do it again. When that will be or how long that will be God only knows, but we acquired it specifically because we wanted to own it and develop it and work on it like we do with The Elder Scrolls."[5]

Development began right after Fallout 3's release, in 2008. The game had minor development due to Skyrim being developed at the same time. After Skyrim was released in 2011, Fallout 4 became the primary project for Bethesda.

Todd Howard revealed in an August 2010 interview with Eurogamer that Bethesda was working on two projects; one had been in development for two years (beginning after Fallout 3 was released), and the other was still in pre-production.[6] It is now known that the title farther along in development was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, while Fallout 4 was the title in pre-production.

On January 9, 2013, the voice actor behind Three Dog (Erik Todd Dellums) was given permission by Bethesda to hint towards his appearance soon. On his Twitter account, he stated, "To all my #Fallout3 and #ThreeDog fans: There may be more of the Dog coming! Fingers crossed!"[7] However, in July of the same year, Dellums tweeted that the game he is working on is not being produced by Bethesda Softworks, therefore, it was not the anticipated new Fallout title.[8]

Bethesda Game Studios announced on Bethblog (dead link) on April 15, 2013, that they had completed all new content for Skyrim and were moving the studio's attention to an as of yet unknown title that had previously been in pre-production since 2010. Although Bethesda Softworks did announce The Evil Within during the same week, it was developed by another studio and had no direct impact on the project Bethesda Game Studios was working on.

Todd Howard was interviewed on Rock, Paper, Shotgun on February 18, 2014, and said that a new game announcement would be very far away. "We don’t [have a timeframe for our next game announcement]," he said, "but I think it’s gonna be a while." He was described as "forever positive" and enthused that "PC is resurgent." "Skyrim did better than we've ever done on PC by a large, large number. And that's where the mods are. That feeds the game for a long time. And it's exciting that the new consoles are very PC-like. That opens up avenues for us going forward to do things that we've wanted to do in the past. There are kind of random ideas we're working on right now, and it's like, 'Wow, I think there's potential here to do some really cool stuff,'" he said.[9]

A countdown timer[10] was set on Bethesda's Fallout website on June 2, 2015, expiring the next day at 10:00 AM EDT. On June 3, seconds before 10:00 AM EDT, the Fallout 4 trailer was released on YouTube. The Fallout website also debuted in full Fallout 4 style, including a working teaser phone number, previously used during the Fallout 3 release.[11]

Bethesda's first ever E3 showcase took place on June 14, 2015, at 7 PM PST. The E3 showcase was streamed on YouTube and Twitch. Bethesda revealed gameplay footage including combat, a refined VATS system, a new crafting system, concept art, and a release date, which was confirmed to be November 10, 2015. A major new feature shown during the press conference was the ability to craft and deconstruct settlements.

Fallout 4 was successfully released on November 10, 2015, having been shipped 12 million copies to meet day one demand.[12]

Trailers

Fallout 4 - Official Trailer Fallout 4 – The Wanderer Trailer Fallout 4 - Launch Trailer

Products

Pip-Boy Edition

The Pip-Boy edition of Fallout 4 features: a wearable Pip-Boy that can, according to a Forbes article, hold the iPhone 6, iPhone 5/5s, iPhone 4/4s, Samsung Galaxy S4, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and many other smartphones using foam inserts.[13] a Pip-Boy pocket guide, a Vault-Tec perk poster, a RobCo Industries stand (for your Pip-Boy), a capsule case, and the game in a collectible metal case.

Fallout 4 Nuke Pack

The Fallout 4 Nuke Pack features a Fallout 4 lunchbox, a 37x10" Fallout 4 Print, a Vault Boy mini bobblehead, and the game in a collectible metal case. The Nuke Pack is sold exclusively in Australia and New Zealand, distributed by EB Games.[14]

Fallout 4 Mighty Bundle

The Fallout 4 Mighty Bundle features: a 100-page hardcover Fallout 4 Franchise Book "...detailing in words and hi-res imagery the history of Fallout over the years", a Fallout Vault Boy Pop! Vinyl figure, and a copy of the game.[15]

Game of the Year Edition

“ Return to the Wasteland on September 26 with Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. With all the latest gameplay updates (including Survival mode), graphical enhancements, the ability to play Mods for free on PC and consoles, plus all official add-ons included, this is the ultimate way to experience the award-winning post-nuclear adventure from Bethesda Game Studios. ” Bethesda Game Studios

Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition was released on September 26, 2017, for PC, PS4 and Xbox One; this edition includes all 6 main add-ons.

To celebrate the Game of the Year Edition, Bethesda released a limited quantity of Fallout 4 G.O.T.Y. Pip-Boy collector editions, exclusively available in North America at select retailers. The Pip-Boy Edition includes Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition and retailed for $99.99 USD, and was also released on September 26.[16]

Mod support

Fallout 4 is the first Fallout game to have native mod support for consoles. During E3 2015, at the Xbox Conference, Todd Howard went on stage to tell the audience that the Xbox One will offer mod support following the release of the Creation Kit for PC, which is available for download as of April 26, 2016. The Xbox One mods support was released on May 31, and support for PlayStation 4 was due sometime in June but was delayed, and as of September 9, 2016, mods on the PlayStation 4 were canceled.[17] However, Bethesda and Sony later came to an agreement and allowed mods to release after The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is released, however they would be limited to using assets already found within the game files.[18]

On August 28, 2017, Bethesda Game Studios inaugurated paid mods through the Creation Club. Content available on the Creation Club is announced to be fully compatible with the main game, official add-ons, and achievements.

Downloadable content

Bethesda had confirmed[19] there was DLC coming starting early 2016, as well as smaller updates along the same lines as Skyrim has seen. A season pass for all add-ons to come can be bought at a price of $30 USD, €29.99 Euro, which will allow you to download the DLC free of charge, if the season pass was purchased before March 1, 2016. If it was purchased after this date, the price on Steam is €49.99 Euro. The confirmed DLC includes Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, Far Harbor, Contraptions Workshop, Vault-Tec Workshop, and Nuka-World.

“ [20] The mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain . Hunt them down and harvest their parts to build and mod your own custom robot companions. Choose from hundreds of mods; mixing limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons like the all-new lightning chain gun. Even customize their paint schemes and choose their voices! ”

“ [20] With the Wasteland Workshop, design and set cages to capture live creatures – from raiders to Deathclaws! Tame them or have them face off in battle, even against your fellow settlers. The Wasteland Workshop also includes a suite of new design options for your settlements like nixie tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more! ”

“ [21] A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travel off the coast of Maine to the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world. Navigate through the growing conflict between the synths, the Children of Atom, and the local townspeople. Will you work towards bringing peace to Far Harbor, and at what cost? Far Harbor features the largest landmass for an add-on that we've ever created, filled with new faction quests, settlements, lethal creatures and dungeons. Become more powerful with new, higher-level armor and weapons. The choices are all yours. ”

“ [20] Machines that sort! Machines that build! Machines that combine! With Fallout 4 Contraptions, use conveyer belts, scaffolding kits, track kits, even logic gates to construct crazy and complex gadgets to improve your Wasteland settlements. The Contraptions Workshop also includes all-new features like elevators, greenhouse kits, warehouse kits, fireworks, armor racks and more! ”

“ [20] Build a brighter future underground with the all-new Vault-Tec Workshop. Create a massive Vault and attract new Dwellers using pre-war industrial kits complete with retro-nostalgic furniture, lighting, and art. Even change and customize the look of your inhabitants with new barbershops and cosmetic surgery stations. And like every good Overseer, run Vault-Tec approved experiments on your Dwellers to learn what makes an ideal citizen. Vault-Tec has given you the tools, the rest is up to you! ”

“ [20] Take a trip to Nuka-World, a vast amusement park now a lawless city of Raiders. Explore an all-new region with an open wasteland and park zones like Safari Adventure, Dry Rock Gulch, Kiddie Kingdom and the Galactic Zone. Nuka-World features new quests, Raiders, weapons, creatures and more. Enjoy the ride! ”

“ [22] Experience the wasteland like you've never seen it before with the Fallout 4 High-Resolution Texture Pack! From the blasted buildings of Lexington to the shores of Boston Harbor and beyond, every location is enhanced with ultra-deluxe detail. ”

Reception

Fallout 4 received "generally favorable" reviewson Metacritic getting a metascore of 84/100 on PC,[23] 87/100 on PS4,[24] and 88/100 on Xbox One.[25]

Gallery

Pre-release concept art

Pre-release screenshots

Gameplay videos

Fallout 4 Gameplay Demo - IGN Live E3 2015 Fallout 4 - Microsoft E3 Press Conference Gameplay Demo Fallout 4 Base Building Gameplay - IGN Live E3 2015 Fallout 4 – Combat Gameplay Compilation Fallout 4 – Gameplay Exploration

See also