Fallout 3 Remaster Shadow Drop Teased By Bethesda Studio Head

4 hours ago 6

Published Feb 22, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.

Fallout 3 fans have been keeping their fingers crossed for an official remaster to upgrade the iconic and beloved entry in the franchise for modern hardware. While Bethesda hasn't confirmed that such a remaster exists up to this point, a recent interview with director Todd Howard suggests we may be in for a surprise.

In a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games (via YouTube), Bethesda boss Todd Howard said that "I do like shadow drops... that is my preferred method" in the context of "multiple" Fallout projects and potential remasters, including a possible Fallout 3 remaster.

Todd Howard Teases Fallout 3 Remastered Shadow Drop

Fallout 3 vault boy with red rocket in background

While it isn't an official confirmation that a Fallout 3 remaster is definitely on the way or in the works, it does indicate that the remaster is likely to be shadow dropped out of nowhere, assuming it exists at all. By the sounds of things, Howard is a big fan of the Oblivion Remastered method, which was a massive success when it released out of the blue last spring.

Fallout 3 Remastered is a heavily rumored and highly anticipated Bethesda release, despite the project not even receiving official confirmation from the studio yet. Howard's mention of multiple Fallout projects in the works is also extremely vague, but Fallout 3 is high on the wishlist for many fans, and it wouldn't be completely unprecedented for Bethesda to keep things on the hush-hush.

Ultimately, even if the project is currently in the works, it's definitely not the priority at Bethesda. Howard detailed that it's an all-hands-on-deck situation for The Elder Scrolls 6, saying that "a majority of the studio is on the game."

When Will Fallout 3 Remastered Release?

According to one of the original sources (via Reddit) that really kicked off rumors about a Fallout 3 remaster in the works, the project would be slated for release sometime this year or next. That said, the timeline is very ambiguous and has been interpreted every which way you could think of, and many fans aren't even convinced that the Fallout 3 remaster is going to happen at all.

It's hard to say one way or the other what's going on behind the scenes at Bethesda, but one thing is clear: if they're working on a Fallout 3 Remaster, fans aren't going to get any warning about it ahead of time. It's very likely they'll announce and release an official Fallout 3 Remastered on the same day, a la Oblivion Remastered, without any marketing or promotions at all.