TheFalloutgames take place in a timeline where the USA’s post-World War 2 economic boom and the aesthetic sensibilities survived long into the 21st Century. This leads to a retrofuturist look infused with a sense of optimism that intentionally clashes with the series' bleak, violent post-apocalyptic world. Some of the games infuse other aspects of Americana based on their setting -New Vegasplayed with the western genre andFallout 4flirted with mob movie tropes, for example.
TheFalloutlore extends beyond America, but the question of whether aFalloutgame could be set outside of the US has hung over the franchise’s head since its creation. Many fans feel thatFallout’s satirical sci-fi world is simply too tied up in its 1950s Americana feel for a game beyond the USA to be viable while still feeling like a part of the series. Here’s a breakdown of some arguments, and what it might suggest for the future of the franchise.
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Breaking Down Fallout’s Premise
TheFalloutgames take place on a fictionalized version of Earth, but for many it’s hard to see aFalloutgame working outside of America. From the franchise’s earlyCRPGs,Fallout’s satirical eye has been trained on the United States. The fundamental contrast thatFallout’s satire relies on is between the romanticized image of the American 1950s that permeates its in-universe culture and the destruction and horror wrought by that society.
It’s a contrast no better summed up than by the series' mascot. Vault-Tec’sVault Boyis a smiling Monopoly Man-esque character who seems harmless enough, but represents a company that performed bizarre and unethical experiments on the inhabitants of the vaults it built to shelter people from nuclear war. It’s also a contradiction found in nuclear energy itself, a force with the capability to build or completely destroy a civilization. When considering aFalloutgame set outside the US, one of the biggest challenges could be applyingFallout’s particular brand of America-focused satire.
Other Countries In The Fallout Universe
Despite the series' usual satirical focus on the United States, there have been attempts to apply the formula elsewhere. Mods likeFallout: Londonaim to explore other parts of the world. Despite countries like China having a hugely important role to play in the lore, however, they have never been visited in the main series. Part of the problem with exploring a location like China in theFalloutuniverse is that the series' portrayal of other countries takes a perspective that reflects the politics of the Red Scare era.
While it’s clear the games' depictions of China and communism more broadly are tongue-in-cheek, theFalloutworld does embody an American perspective to parody it, at least to some degree. The Cold War may have escalated to nuclear annihilation in theFalloutuniverse, but it’s also clear that life in theFalloutuniverse before the war was closer to an idyllic postcard version of the 1950s than the real 1950s was for many.Fallout 4’s intronarration says that before the war, theFalloutuniverse’s Americans “enjoyed luxuries once thought the realm of science fiction.”
In order to properly satirize a nostalgic perspective on the American 1950s,Falloutasks what the world would be like if that idyllic time really had existed and continued to exist long after its sell-by date. Its answer is nuclear destruction. In exploring that premise, places like China aren’t just the victim of Red Scare - in theFalloutworldit really is the “Red Menace” of American propaganda, to a degree.
Europe is barely depicted at all in theFalloutuniverse, only represented by a handful of unexplained accents scattered throughout the games. That also makes sense when consideringFallout’s premise. Europe is the Old World, a world made irrelevant by America’s rise to global dominance afterWorld War 2, at least from the perspective of many Americans in the ’50s. The absence of Europe from the games even in a purely worldbuilding capacity isn’t a failure on the part ofFallout’s storytellers. TheFalloutworld’s reflection of a 1950s American perspective leads to a general lack of interest in the rest of the world beyond China and Russia as potential threats.
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The Future Of Fallout
Falloutcould take players outside of the USA. The problem is that even thoughFallouthas its own versions of different countries around the world, anewFalloutgameset outside of America would lack one of the series' main components, and its ability to satirize an American perspective on the world.
This does lead to some potential problems forFalloutin the long-run. There are only so many major American cities the games can explore, and eventually the series may end up struggling to find locations that interest the studio. The solution is unlikely to be taking the franchise abroad, however. Games like Obsidian’sThe Outer Worldshave shown howFallout’s brand of satire can be applied to new settings, but theFalloutseries itself is deeply tied to an American perspective to the extent that it can barely conceptualize places beyond the United States.
AFalloutgame set outside the US would have to satirize that new country’s Cold War perspective, and the result would likely either be reductive or simply not feel like aFalloutgame at all.Fallout’s best bet to branch out likely comes in the form of new genre tropes, not new countries. Just asNew Vegasplayed with western tropes, there are plenty of other Americana subgenres which could be integrated into future installments. For example, aFalloutgame set in New Orleansor Hawaii could draw on those locations' unique identities within the American psyche when crafting their worlds and characters. Exploring the American psyche is key toFallout’s satire, and a component the series is unlikely to leave behind.
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