So much time has passed between Fallout games that modern players may believe the lighthearted comedic tone of Fallout 4, Fallout ’76, and Prime Video’s Fallout series were the way the franchise has always been portrayed. But Chris Avellone–one of the designers of Fallout 2 and a writer for Fallout: New Vegas–believes that Bethesda has lost sight of the way that the games were originally intended to be received.
When asked on X whether Bethesda hates the franchise, Avellone responded, “They just don’t fully understand its roots and arguably, don’t care–they own the franchise, and they just want to do their spin on Fallout and make that the norm. This usually translates into a colorful, shallow theme park (with some interesting DLC exceptions, like Far Harbor, Point Lookout–and I was one of the ones who liked The Pitt)–still, theme parks are fun for some folks, so if people enjoy it, that’s fine with me.”
This usually translates into a colorful, shallow theme park (with some interesting DLC exceptions, like Far Harbor, Point Lookout – and I was one of the ones who liked The Pitt) – still, theme parks are fun for some folks, so if people enjoy it, that’s fine with me.
— Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) January 9, 2026
Avellone went on to explain that he doesn’t hate Bethesda, and he praised the publisher’s open-world games before calling out its weaknesses regarding its linear stories and “their inability to understand how to use the Speech skill. But every developer has their pros and cons.”
Bethesda’s Todd Howard recently praised Obsidian Entertainment’s work on Fallout: New Vegas, and said that the studio was the only choice to handle the game. Avellone and other Obsidian employees had worked on the previous Fallout games, and that made it the ideal choice to develop New Vegas.
Later this year, PC gamers will be able to buy a Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary physical bundle, but console players will be left out of that. Several players–including actor Danny Trejo–have openly called for a Fallout: New Vegas remake. They may get their wish, because remakes of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are rumored to be in development.