Fallout Show's Timeline With Games Explained by Producer (Exclusive)

The producers behind Amazon Studios’ new Fallout series explained the timeline of the new show alongside the games.

Fans are quite excited about the upcoming game adaptation. The trailer alone teases a highly faithful storyline that fits perfectly into the craziness of the Wasteland that audiences are familiar with.

However, given all of the lore established in previous games, viewers are curious as to how the show will fit within all of those narratives and how exactly the series will expand on the franchise’s heavy lore.

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Fallout Show Timeline With Games Explained

In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Fallout showrunners and writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner discussed the show's timeline and how it connects to previous games.

When asked which of the previous games they referenced or looked to the most, Graham admitted that they felt "if [they] show [their] hand in either direction," they’d "be favoring one faction of Fallout fans over another:"

"We do get asked that. And I keep jumping and saying like, don't answer, don't answer--because the fan base of 'Fallout' is massive, and they can't agree on which is the best one. And that debate is sort of this ongoing thing for years now. And if we show our hand in either direction, I feel like we'll be favoring one faction of 'Fallout' fan over another, whereas keeping them guessing is somehow more delicious to me as an asshole."

Dworet confirmed that the "show is set after the games" and that the television series doesn't "commit to a single ending" from those games:

"I think that's the thing; we were pulling a little bit from all of the games. And because our show is set after the games, we wanted to be true to the mythology of all of the pre-existing games, with the exception of we could not commit to a single ending."

The writers never wanted "to imply that some player’s experience of the games were not actually accurate:"

"There are, of any of the individual games, multiple endings to each game, and to choose one would be to imply that some player's experience of the games was not actually accurate. So, we tried to allow for all of the possible endings of each game to be true while creating a timeline that our show exists after."

While the Fallout franchise has established lore regarding the world before the bombs fell, the television series had the chance to expand upon the story in a way none of the games have.

For some additional context, events of the new television series mainly occur in 2296.

The very first Fallout game took place in 2161, with Fallout 76 going even further back to 2102. The more recent main installments, Fallout 3 and 4, took place in 2277 and 2287 respectively.

"It was really exciting," Dworet said about exploring that pre-apocalypse world, adding how they wanted to focus on the implied notion that "these mega-corporations" maybe had something to do with those nukes dropping:

"It was really exciting. I think it was something that we were both intrigued by with the games is, you're wandering through the wasteland, and you're seeing all the detritus left behind by these mega-corporations… It seems to imply that these mega-corporations had so much power before the bombs dropped; maybe that implies they had something to do with it. It's a bit of a mystery of what the connection is, but it certainly feels like it's implied in the games. And that was something we are interested in exploring more of."

Graham admitted with a laugh that it is not lost on them that they are exploring those ideas while making a Fallout series for Amazon:

"Look, it's a show about a world that bet big on mega-corporations, and it didn't work out. And here we are in the world, you know, and it's 1997, the original game and that attitude was very much in the air… And here we are, now adapting it for Amazon.com, which is, you know, not lost on us the absurdity of it all. And the deliciousness of it all in its own way. But that is the American paradox, I guess, is that we coexist with these nonhuman entities that are godlike in power... I hope it works out."

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Will There Be Fallout Game References in the Show?

Given the timeline itself and being years removed from the events of previous games, the odds of any notably relevant crossover details are likely minimal.

It is worth noting, however, that the first two games in the franchise were also set in California. Perhaps fans should be on the lookout for connections to those entries in the series.

Also interesting is how the showrunners detailed their commitment to not using any specific endings of any of the games to respect player choices. While it is great to have such a high regard for fans in that way, it does seemingly indicate that any pointed references to older games could be difficult to ever pull off.

At the very least, it seems the series is not too worried about relying on the older games, instead offering its original story. Fans will also undoubtedly enjoy all the world-building it will be able to do in ways that the games have not yet—such as a notable focus on how the Wasteland was born.

Fallout debuts all eight episodes of its first season on Thursday, April 11, on Prime Video.

In the meantime, make sure to check out this neat giveaway the series is offering its fans!