As the Fallout series enjoys renewed interest and popularity across all its games, largely thanks to the breakout success of the Fallout TV series, it could be the perfect time for the series to return to its classic style of gameplay. Having made the shift from the series’ classic style in the transition from Fallout 2 to Fallout 3, modern Fallout games have largely found success — but the popularity of certain other games on the market could show demand for the old way as well.
Though most fans of Fallout will, at this point, associate the series with the first-person, open-world style of gameplay that’s characteristic of Bethesda RPGs, the series started with the original Fallout and Fallout 2 as isometric CRPGs, with turn-based combat and mostly point-and-click control schemes. By the time of Fallout 3‘s release, however, that kind of game had fallen out of favor, at least relative to other genres, and seemingly only grew more niche as the industry developed. Just recently, however, it’s been proven that the classic style of CRPGs can still draw mainstream success — with the right support.
Though Fallout, by this point, has mostly solidified its identity as a series of open-world FPS RPGs, the recent massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3 shows that there can still be significant demand for something closer to the series’ classic style. With the series currently enjoying renewed popularity as well, thanks to the Fallout TV series, it could be the perfect time for a spin-off game to explore what a modernized take on old-school Fallout gameplay could look like, in a similar vein to how BG3 built on the classic Baldur’s Gate games.
Although Fallout‘s popularity has only grown since its transition to a first-person perspective, a sizable contingent of fans still enjoy the first two games (and, for some, New Vegas) for their heavier RPG elements, including aspects like progression and the ability to create unique player characters. However, both games have undeniably aged, sporting outdated graphics, obtuse systems, and confusing UI — all of which can be huge barriers to entry for players more used to the modern Fallout games.
In addition, CRPGs have generally been regarded as niche games with little potential for mainstream appeal — though the occasional game like Divinity: Original Sin 2 or Disco Elysium could find success, they weren’t able to reach the same heights as games in more popular genres. However, with the breakout success story of Baldur’s Gate 3 becoming one of the most popular and critically acclaimed games of 2023 (overshadowing Bethesda’s Starfield in many respects), there’s proof that, with the right circumstances, CRPGs can still have significant mainstream appeal.
Of course, there were many factors contributing to Baldur’s Gate 3‘s success, including the game’s heavy association with a major IP in Dungeons & Dragons and the game’s developer, Larian Studios, being in a prime position to work on the game for a long period of time and with a high budget. Especially with its renewed popularity, however, Fallout is seemingly in the perfect position to try and replicate BG3‘s success, being both a popular, mainstream IP and a franchise that can demand a Triple-A budget and a long development cycle for its games.
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to a potential isometric Fallout spin-off is the question of who would develop it. Though the franchise is owned by Bethesda, the studio’s games are, at this point, defined by its particular brand of first-person RPG gameplay. Developing a game drastically different from what the studio is known for and (presumably) accustomed to could turn out badly — not to mention that Bethesda’s style of writing is contentious for some classic Fallout fans. These factors combined mean that a spin-off Fallout CRPG would likely be better received if its development was outsourced to another studio.
As the developers of, by many metrics, the most successful CRPG ever to be released, Larian Studios might seem like an obvious choice. However, even if the studio wasn’t currently looking towards developing its own IPs, there would still be a potential mismatch between Larian’s more fantasy-oriented catalog of games and the post-apocalyptic, sci-fi leanings of Fallout. Though Baldur’s Gate 3 stands as the current best example of a CRPG with significant mainstream appeal, the game’s developers might be mismatched with developing a Fallout CRPG.
The next “obvious” choice would be Obsidian Entertainment, developers of both Fallout: New Vegas and the moderately popular Pillars of Eternity CRPG series. Like with Larian, however, the studio is currently busy with its own projects, including a spin-off of Pillars, Avowed, in the exact opposite direction, taking on a first-person approach more broadly similar to Bethesda’s own RPGs. Additionally, while many fans enjoy Obsidian’s take on Fallout in New Vegas, many of that game’s key developers, including lead creative designer John Gonzalez, no longer work at the studio, making it somewhat questionable if they could replicate its appeal.
In terms of other prominent CRPG developers, Owlcat Studios could potentially be the best remaining choice, having already been responsible for developing mostly well-received CRPGs like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. While Fallout as an IP is significantly larger and very different from either Pathfinder or Warhammer 40,000, Owlcat’s ability to develop games from differing IPs and find success could make it the best choice for an isometric Fallout spinoff.
With Fallout 5 still far off, the renewed interest in Fallout as a result of the TV show, and the example set by Baldur’s Gate 3, it could be the perfect time for a spinoff Fallout game to return to the series’ roots. Though perhaps not as ubiquitous as D&D, Fallout has the right amount of mainstream appeal (and funding) to potentially replicate BG3‘s success, although a major obstacle exists in terms of which studio would actually develop it. Though it’s relatively unlikely to actually happen, an isometric Fallout spinoff could be a big hit.