Fallout is one of gaming’s most iconic franchises — but when it comes to expanded media, it’s shockingly thin. Unlike Halo or Witcher, which both exploded with novels and comics, Fallout barely steps beyond the screen. And from a gamer’s perspective, that’s a curious choice.
Every Fallout game builds an immersive sandbox where you create the story. Whether you’re the Vault Dweller, the Courier, or the Lone Survivor, the plot bends around your moral compass. That’s why Fallout has always struggled with adaptation: committing a story to paper means choosing a canon, which can alienate players whose choices didn’t align with it.
Bethesda understands this. It’s why they’ve avoided naming the protagonist in most games, or why companions from previous entries rarely reappear. Writing a novel would mean establishing what “actually” happened — and that breaks the illusion of player agency.
Still, fans aren’t asking for a retelling of the games. What we want are side stories. Look at Fallout: New Vegas – All Roads. It didn’t step on any player choices. Instead, it showed us what Benny was up to before the game started. It enriched the experience.
Why can’t we have a comic series set in pre-war America? Or a noir-styled novel following a Ghoul detective in New Reno? Gamers love lore — just ask any fan who’s read every terminal log in Vault-Tec facilities. The Fallout world is huge, and there’s room to tell great stories that don’t interfere with gameplay.
The only consistent book content we’ve gotten are lore encyclopedias, mod guides, and The Art of Fallout volumes. Those are nice — but they’re reference material, not stories. The closest to narrative expansion has come from tabletop RPGs like Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, where players create their own adventures. But again, that’s optional storytelling — not something with an author’s singular vision behind it.
With the hit Fallout TV show proving there’s mainstream hunger for these stories, the lack of narrative books is baffling. This is the perfect time for Bethesda to team up with Dark Horse, IDW, or even Black Library to produce a comic run or a series of tie-in novels that enhance the games, not replace them.
Gamers are ready. Fallout’s world is ready. All that’s missing is someone willing to pull the trigger on publishing.
Comments
Post a Comment