Fallout 5 is now official: Bethesda confirms pre-production

Bethesda Game Studios has officially confirmed Fallout 5. The next mainline game has moved into pre-production, while The Elder Scrolls VI is still the studio’s main development priority. That settles years of speculation, but it also tells you not to expect a release anytime soon.

It’s the clearest roadmap yet from Bethesda Game Studios, though the message on timing hasn’t changed much. The Elder Scrolls VI still comes first, which means Fallout 5 is a long way from launch.

Bethesda Game Studios’ broader plan also suggests the company is being more open than usual. It includes remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, a new Fallout project with Obsidian Entertainment, and Creation Engine 3 powering both The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 to help move development along faster, even if that still won’t fix every problem tied to scale, staffing, and production.

If you keep up with Fallout, this confirmation matters, even with the criticism around its timing after layoffs at Microsoft, complaints from a union that the roadmap could pull attention away from those job cuts, and the wider doubt that Bethesda Game Studios can push several huge RPGs forward with a smaller workforce.

There’s nothing to download yet, since Fallout 5 is still years away and Bethesda Game Studios is still focused on The Elder Scrolls VI.