Following Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Fallout developer Bethesda Game Studios, many fans wondered if Obsidian—another Microsoft acquisition—could make a sequel to fan-favorite game Fallout: New Vegas. However, one of the best aspects of New Vegas is its strong emphasis in player choice and multiple endings, and declaring one ending canon would put a bit of a damper of Fallout 2 Vegas. There are endless locations for Fallout games that Obsidian could make great, though.
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The Pacific Northwest
Obsidian and its spiritual predecessor Interplay created Fallout’s West Coast canon, while Bethesda focuses on the East Coast; so it only makes sense that Obsidian stays west. The Pacific Northwest is far enough up the coast that it can rely and build on the lore from Fallout and Fallout 2 without rehashing old ground. Plus, the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest make for a great environment that is very distinct from previous Fallout games.
The only reason this doesn’t rank higher is that someone else is already working on it. Fallout: Cascadia is a Fallout mod team that is making a game-sized adventure set in the Pacific Northwest.
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Texas
Texas has actually been the location of a Fallout game before—the oft-forgotten and critically panned Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. Despite the game’s failure, an Obsidian Fallout game can take inspiration from it and its cancelled sequel. There’s plenty of interesting worldbuilding potential in settlements like Lone Star and factions like the Ghoul Trading Company and the remnants of Fallout: New Vegas’s Legion. Plus, the location means that Obsidian can bring back some of New Vegas’s desert critters like Nightstalkers and Bighorners, as well as Brotherhood of Steel’s unique creatures like Texas Rattlers.
Plus, you can be sure that Obsidian would do a great job of keeping Austin weird.
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Canada
While Fallout is a distinctly American game, Canada has an important place in the lore. In Fallout, Canada was annexed by America in its never-ending search for more resources to exploit. In fact, in the intro of the very first Fallout game, we see American soldiers executing a Canadian protester.
The actual location in Canada is less important, although both Vancouver and Calgary are good choices. A game set in Canada would be a great way to see the Fallout universe from a different perspective, from outside the American Empire than from within.
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Hawaii
Speaking of victims of the American Empire, Hawaii would be a great location for a Fallout game. The island chain is a mix of cultures, with indigenous Hawaiians, an immigrant population, mainland transplants, and military installations all butting against each other. An Obsidian Fallout game in Hawaii could continue in Fallout’s tradition of casting the American government as the game’s villain, but this time instead of a fascist state trying to regain power, it could be a colonial power trying to retain control after being cut off from the empire.
Also, while it might seem like the islands are too small for a full game, Hawaii is actually bigger than the map area in Fallout: New Vegas.
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Wyoming
While it isn’t a big city or popular location like some on this list, Wyoming would be a great location for two reasons. The first is Yellowstone. The ruins of this national park, along with its forests and scalding hot springs, would be a great location to build a Fallout game around. Nearby locations like the quirky Jackson Hole would make for great settlements as well.
The second reason why Wyoming would be the best Fallout location for Obsidian is that the Khans are there. It may seem like the Brotherhood of Steel is the single iconic Fallout faction, the Khans have been there since the beginning. The Khans are known for bouncing back (usually from being destroyed by the game’s protagonist), and one of their endings in Fallout: New Vegas has them reunite with their old allies, the Followers of the Apocalypse, and find a home of their own in Wyoming. A game centered around the Khans as one of the main factions would be a great redemption for Fallout’s oldest former raider gang.