Fallout: Forgotten Valley Is The Expansion We Never Thought We'd See

3 hours ago 10

Fallout New Vegas close-up on an NCR Desert Ranger.

Published Jun 22, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT

Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised, and based in Queens, New York. With collective thousands of hours in games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda, he's now writes game features, guides, and reviews for Screen Rant, but has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and overall health.

A new, fan-made mod for Fallout: New Vegas is so huge, it feels like an unreleased expansion. Despite a troubled development cycle and many enduring bugs, New Vegas remains one of the most beloved games in the series canon, with fans often calling for a remaster to bring it to modern platforms.

One of the best parts of New Vegas is its many official DLC expansions, each of which builds on the lore of the Mojave and adds new factions to the mix. Many fans, however, have taken matters into their hands, releasing expansions of their own that rival the original release.

A player exploring a desolate street with a saloon and a water tower in the Forgotten Valley mod for Fallout New Vegas.

Forgotten Valley is a fan-made New Vegas mod by ThisMalkavian that just got a fresh release on Nexus Mods (first spotted by Dark Side of Gaming). It takes place in a standalone location that its developer describes as "featuring a dark, oppressive atmosphere, numerous enemies, and hidden secrets."

The mod was created by ThisMalkavian, and originally released in Russian; however, it's now available in English for the first time as of June 12, 2026. The modder warns that it shouldn't be considered a professional, DLC-quality expansion, but instead reflects their own effort to create a video game world inspired by things like STALKER (and the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker), Twin Peaks, and Evil Dead.

Visually, the influences are pretty clear: Forgotten Valley alternates between greenish fog and bright red sunlight. Where much of New Vegas consists of rebuilt towns and reclaimed territory, there's less of that in Forgotten Valley; many buildings are still crumbling, and even the points of interest feel lonely and desolate.

A ghoul typing at a computer terminal in the Fallout New Vegas mod Forgotten Valley.

Still, the mod does have real characters and a story, although by its creator's own admission, it's much more focused on exploration and discovery than on branching story paths and factions like New Vegas' main quest. There are, however, real NPCs, merchants, and quests to guide you along the way.

You can even activate an expanded version of the mod, which doubles the size of the Forgotten Valley map, adding new locations and interiors for you to explore. Just a note: Forgotten Valley is only recommended for high-level New Vegas characters, so you may want to complete the majority of the campaign or use console commands to power up your character before you head out and explore.

While we wait for a remaster that may never come, mods are the perfect way to expand the Fallout experience, making even games you've played a million times before feel fresh. If you're looking to revisit Fallout: New Vegas, Forgotten Valley may be just the thing for you.