Amazon’s ‘Fallout’ series is completely canon, confirms Bethesda

Everything that happens in the Fallout TV series is completely canon, according to Bethesda director Todd Howard.

The Bethesda director spoke to Vanity Fair about the upcoming TV series, explaining that as a studio Bethesda “views what’s happening in the show as canon”.

“That’s what’s great,” Howard says. “When someone else looks at your work and then translates it in some fashion.”

Howard also delved into exactly what type of tone the show will take, stating that there were a “lot of conversations over the style of humour, the level of violence, the style of violence”. According to Howard, a Fallout series needs to “weave in a little bit of a wink” which he believes the show “threaded that needle really well.”

He also explained why it took so long for a Fallout adaptation to come to light, stating that he’s heard countless pitches over the years but “nothing ever felt like the right fit.”

Showrunner Jonathon Nolan explained that when approaching the development of the show, he made sure that it was as close to the game’s themes as possible. As Nolan puts it, “the games are about the culture of division and have and have-nots that, unfortunately, have only gotten more and more acute in this country.”

The Fallout TV series is currently scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on April 12, 2024, and is developed by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. The show stars Ella Purnell, Kyle McLachlan, and Johnny Pemberton, with Walton Goggins playing one of the series’ iconic ‘Ghouls’.

Bethesda’s latest title, Starfield, launched in September, with NME’s Andy Brown writing in his review that “at times, Starfield is ambitious to a fault. It’s capable of turning an entire universe into a thrilling playground, but falls short of truly immersing you in that fantasy.”

In other recent Bethesda news, developers have taken to Steam to respond to reviews criticising Starfield.