Despite releasing a popular demo this summer, Fallout 1 remake mod Fallout: Vault 13 has now had its development “suspended”

The team behind Fallout: Vault 13, a modding project dedicated to remaking the very first Fallout game in Fallout 4, has announced that it’s made the decision to “suspend” development.

In a spring/summer this year that also us Fallout fans get to enjoy stuff like the Fallout TV Series, a Fallout 76 expansion, and Fallout: London, Vault 13’s creators put out a demo for their project, which earned pretty positive reviews from players.

Now, however, just a couple of months after putting out that August demo, the decision has been taken to “officially suspend development on Fallout: Vault 13”. In a statemt posted to the modding project’s Discord server and then shared to its Twitter account, founder and project co-lead Culwino explained that this course of action was chosen following “much careful thought and deliberation”.

“This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is the right step at this stage of our journey,” they wrote, “I know this may come as unexpected news, and we sincerely apologise for any disappointment it may cause. Despite this, we are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished so far. The demo release was a huge milestone, and its success shows just how much hard work and passion was poured into this project by the entire team and community.

In the server’s FAQ section Culwino added that the suspension was due to “a combination of factors, including burnout, difficulty in recruiting and retaining team members with niche skills, and personal life changes among core team members”. There was no infighting or cease and desist from Bethesda, they explained, “Ultimately, this was an ambitious project being made with limited resources by volunteers. The decision was made to prioritize the well-being of project members.”

Returning to their statement, it continued: “While active development is ending, we want to ensure that all the work we’ve done sees the light of day. In the coming weeks, we will release a full build of Fallout: Vault 13 that includes all unfinished content. This release will allow the community to experience the project in its current form and serve as a foundation for anyone interested in continuing or building upon it in the future. We are planning to upload this build to Nexus Mods. This will ensure that the community has access to all the work we’ve done so far, preserving it for future modders and fans alike.”

That’s not all the team plans to do either, with Culwino writing that “a retrospective that will take a look back at everything we’ve accomplished with Fallout: Vault 13, celebrating the highs, the lessons learned, and the passion that drove this project” is something they aim to put out “down the line”.

So, some sad news for now, but at least it looks like you’ll still get a chance to see what the Vault 13 team had accomplished so far. Plus, as we’ve seen with other ambitious modding projects like Fallout: Nuevo Mexico, halts in development like this don’t always prove to be the end of the road they can look like.

One thing you do still have to look forward to is Bethesda’s first ever Fallout Day broadcast on October 23, which promises some developer updates on Fallout 76 and a community-run parade. Plus, Fallout: London got a big update last week.