Todd confirms that the Fallout TV series is canon: After New Vegas

After the live-action series was broadcast, Bethesda boss Todd Howard once again confirmed that the "Fallout" TV series is part of the official history of the game series, and tried to quell players' speculation that the show overturned the plot of "Fallout: New Vegas".

Todd said in 2023 that the TV series was an official continuation of the game's plot, and in a subsequent interview, he explained how the show would fit into the overall timeline of the game. In an interview with IGN, he said that the "Fallout" series is the latest story of the plot, which takes place in 2296, 9 years after the plot of "Fallout 4" and 15 years after "Fallout: New Vegas".

The timing of the destruction of a place called "Shady Sand" by a nuclear bomb is the main reason for the episode to confuse players. This city is one of the most important recurring locations in the game. It is an early town in "Fallout" and the headquarters of an organization called "New California Republic" in "New Vegas". In the show, the protagonist Lucy sees that the city has been bombed into a big crater.

And on a blackboard seen in Shelter 4, it was discovered that the town was blown up in 2277 - 4 years earlier than the plot of "New Vegas". Considering the important plot proportion of the New California Republic in "New Vegas", it is obviously contradictory that its headquarters was blown up before the game.

"All I can say is that we're in the process of fleshing out that plot, but the bomb dropped shortly after the events of New Vegas," Todd said.

Emil Pagliarulo, design director of Bethesda Studio, previously responded to fans' doubts on Twitter that Bethesda wanted to rewrite the plot of "New Vegas". He confirmed that "New Vegas" is part of the canon of "Fallout". Even though it was made by Obsidian, Bethesda has never stated that it is not the main story.

A sign in the series also refers to "Shady Sands" as the "first capital of the New California Republic", meaning the organization may have moved to another city and used it as its capital, and continued to exist.

Todd and others' explanations did not completely resolve the contradiction. After all, the time of New Vegas will not change. But it seems that the series is more willing to add the existing plots to the game rather than rewrite them. The second season, which has been renewed, is likely to revolve around the city of New Vegas, and further clarification of this contradiction will surely appear in the second season.