Xbox boss teases new Fallout coming sooner than we imagined

You can criticise Naughty Dog as much as you’d like to for the number of times the studio has re-released its various The Last of Us titles, but you have to admit, it knows what it’s doing.

The remade The Last of Us Part I dropped ahead of the first season of HBO’s TV adaptation, while The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s release coincided with filming commencing on season two.

Now, The Last of Us Complete has landed alongside the airing of that second season; there’s a great synergy between the games and the TV adaptation.

Bethesda wasn’t quite as prepared when it came to Fallout premiering on Prime Video last year.

Developers were able to withhold Fallout 4’s new-gen update, dropping it as the show aired to make the most out of the franchise’s renewed hype.

Fans didn’t exactly receive anything new beyond this though, something Microsoft head Phil Spencer has since reflected on.

Did you enjoy The Last of Us’ season two premiere? Take a look at what’s in store in the season ahead.

“I was glad we had Fallout 76, and even Fallout Shelter grew when the Fallout television show came out. We had the Fallout 4 remaster there so there was something for the community that was loving the TV show to try something new in Fallout,” Spencer said in an interview with Variety.

“But I wouldn’t say we perfected that, of being ready and having a date when we knew the show was going to come out, and really we learned from it, is the best way of putting it. I think with Minecraft, we’re doing some things that are more unique, in terms of content and the alignment of the movie with the things that we’re doing. But this is a great example of us learning.”

He continued, “Trying to align production schedules for new games and new movies at the same time, I think, is probably beyond our creative capability right now. And I don’t even know that that’s the goal. But for things like Minecraft or Fallout, things that are ongoing and have communities, it makes a ton of sense for us to allow people who love the movie or love the television show to celebrate that in the game.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, so let me do just that.

Spencer admits that Bethesda perhaps didn’t have enough ready to coincide with Fallout’s TV premiere when it came to new game offerings, but it sounds as if the team is planning on changing that in the future: “[It] makes a ton of sense for us to allow people who love the movie or love the television show to celebrate that in the game.”

As such, it stands to reason that we’re far more likely to see additional Fallout game content drop alongside the release of season two.

I wouldn’t run away with this though and assume that Fallout 5 is going to appear out of nowhere, and to explain why, I’ll direct your attention to this part: “Trying to align production schedules for new games and new movies at the same time, I think, is probably beyond our creative capability right now.”

But it does sound as if Bethesda may be seeking to improve its season one timed offerings.

It does then lead you to wonder what we might see drop alongside season two.

Another Fallout 76 expansion? Fallout 4 DLC? That long-awaited remake/remaster of Fallout 3?

It’s hard to say, but it’s exciting to hear that Bethesda is actively accelerating its Fallout plans and acknowledging the drought.