Fallout 5 Official Release Date Update Confirms We're In For A Wait

Fallout was already popular among PC gamers in the '90s, but it has taken off into the stratosphere over the last few decades. Following Bethesda's takeover and the release of Fallout 3, the series has seen multiple spinoffs and mainline entries, as well as cross-media projects such as board games and TV.

The show alone has brought in many new fans, many of whom picked up the games for the first time. Given the disparate timelines and the ability to create your own character, any game is a decent starting point. Still, fans want more settings and storylines, and we're going to get them with a future mainline game.

After years of speculation, Bethesda has finally confirmed that we're getting Fallout 5. The thing is, the official release date update that the company provided on X isn't quite what everyone expected.

Thanks to a new social post from Bethesda, we have full official confirmation that Fallout 5 is in the works. The thing is, it hasn't been in the works for very long. According to the company, "Fallout 5 remains [their] long-range destination," and they "have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now."

Fans were quick to point out that the phrase "long-range destination" isn't promising, all while juggling multiple projects (though one of them is going to Obsidian). With that in mind, Bethesda further clarifies how far along they are later in the letter, stating that "Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction."

While it's promising that the project is fully confirmed and is going to come out at some point, a lot of those same fans were expecting it to be way further along than this. With pre-production happening now, the actual process for development will take years.

Bethesda does offer a bone, though, explaining their recent advancements in their developmental pipeline: "Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games."

There's other Fallout news, too. Bethesda has stated that Fallout remains "one of their biggest priorities." Fallout 76 is getting a prequel story to Fallout 3 next year, and states the game's journey is "far from over." We're also getting remasters for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, which were officially confirmed.

Fallout 5 might be a way out, but there's still the TV show, several remasters, and the continuation of Fallout 76​​​​​​. There's a lot of stuff to dig through if you're a new fan.