What Is the Fallout Series?

The Fallout series is a post-apocalyptic role-playing franchise set in an alternate United States after a nuclear war in October 2077. The world is a retro-futuristic wasteland inspired by 1950s Americana, where survivors emerge from underground bunkers called Vaults and rebuild society among ruined cities, mutated creatures, and warring factions.

The series began in 1997 with isometric, turn-based RPGs developed by Interplay. Bethesda Game Studios acquired the franchise in 2004 and transformed it into a first-person open-world series starting with Fallout 3 in 2008. The main entries in the series are:

• Fallout (1997) — the original game, set in Southern California, turn-based and isometric
• Fallout 2 (1998) — a direct sequel set in Northern California, 80 years after the events of the first game
• Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001) — a squad-based tactical spin-off, not considered main series canon
• Fallout 3 (2008) — first-person open-world RPG, set in the Capital Wasteland surrounding Washington D.C.
• Fallout: New Vegas (2010) — set in the Mojave Desert of Nevada, developed by Obsidian Entertainment
• Fallout 4 (2015) — set in post-war Boston, introduced settlement building and a fully voiced protagonist
• Fallout 76 (2018) — an online multiplayer game, set in West Virginia before the events of all other entries

The 2024 Amazon Prime Video TV show brought a massive wave of new players to the series. It is set after the events of Fallout 4 and references several games, but functions as a standalone story and serves as a reasonable introduction to the world before starting any game in the series.

What Order Should You Play the Fallout Games?

You do not need to follow release order to enjoy the Fallout series. Here is the recommended approach based on player experience rather than in-universe chronology:

1. Start with Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas for the first-person open-world RPG experience. Fallout 3 has a more structured tutorial and a cleaner main quest arc. New Vegas has significantly sharper writing and deeper RPG mechanics, but is harder during your first few hours in the Mojave Desert.
2. Play Fallout 4 next if you enjoyed the modern games. It has the most polished gunplay in the series and introduces base-building, but offers a less flexible dialogue system than New Vegas. The settlement mechanics are optional but rewarding.
3. Return to Fallout 1 and 2 after experiencing at least one modern entry. These top-down, turn-based originals have exceptional writing and dense world-building that you will appreciate more once you already care about the universe. Budget 20 to 40 hours for each.
4. Play Fallout 76 at any point — it requires no knowledge of previous games and has its own self-contained storyline. It works well as a casual multiplayer game to play alongside or between the single-player entries.

If you are a lore purist and want to experience events in chronological order, Fallout 1 is technically the earliest story. Be prepared for 1990s-era RPG mechanics, however. Most new players find it easier to appreciate the originals after first forming an attachment to the world through one of the modern games.

Where to Download and Play Each Fallout Game

Every mainline Fallout game is available on PC. Console availability varies by title and generation. Here is where to find each one:

• Fallout 1 and 2: Available on GOG.com and Steam for around $10 each. The GOG versions are DRM-free and include pre-applied compatibility patches for modern Windows. These titles are not available on any current-gen console platform or on Game Pass.
• Fallout 3: Available on Steam, GOG, and Xbox Game Pass on both PC and Xbox consoles. On Windows 10 and 11, the Steam version requires a one-time fix to disable Games for Windows Live, which otherwise blocks the game from launching.
• Fallout: New Vegas: Available on Steam and Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox via backward compatibility. There is no current-gen PlayStation release — PC or Xbox are the only modern options for this title.
• Fallout 4: Available on Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass. A free next-gen update released in 2024 adds performance and quality rendering modes for consoles.
• Fallout 76: Available on Bethesda.net, Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass. The base game is included in Game Pass at no additional cost beyond the subscription.

Best value: Xbox Game Pass PC or Ultimate (approximately $10 to $15 per month) includes Fallout 3, New Vegas, 4, and 76 in a single subscription. This is the most cost-effective way to sample multiple entries in the series before deciding which ones to purchase outright.

How to Run Fallout 1 and 2 on Modern Windows

Fallout 1 and 2 were designed for Windows 95 and 98. They can run on Windows 10 and 11 with a few straightforward steps. The GOG versions are the recommended purchase because they come with pre-applied compatibility fixes.

Setting Up Fallout 1

1. Install Fallout 1 via GOG Galaxy or download the offline installer directly from your GOG library account page.
2. The GOG version launches without additional patching in most cases. Run the game via the provided shortcut.
3. If you see a launch error or the game closes immediately, right-click fallout1.exe, choose Properties, open the Compatibility tab, and check Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
4. To play at a resolution above 640x480, install the community Fallout Fixt mod, which also includes hundreds of bug fixes and restored cut content.

Setting Up Fallout 2

1. Install from GOG. The version ships with the official 1.02 patch already applied.
2. For the most complete experience, install the Fallout 2 Restoration Project, maintained by the No Mutants Allowed fan community. It re-adds cut content, fixes hundreds of engine bugs, and enables higher resolutions without a separate patch.
3. Apply Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode if the game does not launch after a clean install.
4. Both games write save files to your Documents folder. Back up your saves before updating any mods, as save files made with different mod versions can conflict.

How to Get Started in Fallout 3 and New Vegas

Fallout 3 and New Vegas share the same core engine and the SPECIAL character system. Making smart choices during character creation saves significant frustration later and avoids the need to restart a long playthrough.

Character Creation Tips

• Set Intelligence to 8 or higher before any other stat. Intelligence directly determines how many skill points you gain each level, and the benefit compounds over the entire game.
• Tag Speech as one of your three starting skills. Speech unlocks dialogue options that resolve quests peacefully, unlock better rewards, and bypass difficult combat encounters entirely.
• In New Vegas specifically, choose Guns as your primary combat skill over Energy Weapons. Guns ammunition is far more common in the early game, and vendors reliably stock it from the start.

Understanding V.A.T.S.

V.A.T.S. stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. It pauses real-time combat and lets you spend Action Points to queue targeted attacks on specific body parts. Use V.A.T.S. whenever your Action Points are fully recharged — it is more accurate than manual aiming, especially early in the game when your Guns or Energy Weapons skill is low. Targeting the head applies a critical hit bonus; targeting the legs slows or cripples enemies, limiting their movement.

Early Survival Habits

• Save your game manually with a new save slot every 10 to 15 minutes. Do not depend on the single autosave, which can overwrite itself in a bad situation and leave you without a clean backup.
• Pick up every item you can carry — weapons, armor, junk, food — and sell it to vendors. Caps are scarce early on and every item has value.
• In New Vegas, avoid Cottonwood Cove and Caesar's Legion territory on the eastern side of the map until you reach at least level 10 to 12. The Legion soldiers there are designed for late-game encounters and will kill a new character in seconds.

What to Expect in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76

Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 share the same engine but differ significantly from the earlier modern games in tone, structure, and mechanics. Understanding these differences helps you set the right expectations before you start.

Fallout 4 Changes

• Voiced protagonist: Your character speaks in all cut scenes and dialogue sequences. This makes the story feel more cinematic but reduces the role-playing flexibility present in New Vegas, where silence and customizable responses were standard.
• Settlement building: You can construct and manage player-built settlements using scavenged materials. Settlements need beds, food sources, water pumps, and defense turrets to survive. This system is optional but feeds into major quest lines and is required for some high-tier Charisma perks.
• Perk chart replaces Skills: Fallout 4 removed the Skills system entirely. Each level grants one Perk pick from a large grid. Each column of perks is tied to a SPECIAL stat — raising Charisma unlocks Charisma perks, and so on. Good early picks include Lone Wanderer (Charisma 3) and Gun Nut (Intelligence 1).
• On PC, add bMouseAcceleration=0 under the [Controls] section in Fallout4.ini to disable mouse smoothing, which makes aiming feel sluggish by default.

Fallout 76 Changes

• Always online: Fallout 76 requires a Bethesda account and a constant internet connection. Sessions are hosted on shared servers with other players.
• C.A.M.P. system: You place your personal base anywhere on the map. Workshopping a settlement gives you access to resource generators and crafting stations tied to that location.
• Start with the Wastelanders main quest: This quest chain, added in a 2020 update, provides the best early gear, caps, and story context. Follow its markers until you reach level 20 before branching out.
• Use Public Teams from the social menu to group automatically with nearby players during events for a bonus XP multiplier. You do not need to know anyone to benefit from this.

Essential Mods and Fixes for PC Players

Fallout 3 and New Vegas benefit substantially from community-made patches on PC. These are not optional cosmetic additions — they fix critical engine bugs that cause crashes on modern hardware and operating systems.

Fallout 3 Essential Fixes

• Games for Windows Live Disabler: Download GFWLDisabler.dll from Nexus Mods and place it in your Fallout 3 installation folder. This removes the GFWL service that prevents the game from launching on Windows 10 and 11. This is the single most important fix for this game.
• Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch: Fixes several hundred bugs that Bethesda never patched. Install this after disabling GFWL.
• Fallout Script Extender (FOSE): A required dependency for most quality-of-life mods. Download it from fose.silverlock.org, extract all files to your Fallout 3 directory, and launch the game via fose_loader.exe instead of the standard executable.

Fallout: New Vegas Essential Fixes

• 4GB Patch: Allows the 32-bit game executable to address more than 2 GB of RAM. This patch dramatically reduces random crashes in dense areas and large interiors. Apply it to FalloutNV.exe before any other mod.
• New Vegas Anti Crash (NVAC): Intercepts common crash conditions and handles them without closing the game. Available on Nexus Mods — install it early.
• JIP LN NVSE Plugin: Fixes dozens of engine-level bugs and is a required dependency for many other popular mods. Install it after setting up the New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE).

Use Mod Organizer 2 to install and manage all mods. It virtualizes your game folder so mods never overwrite original files, and uninstalling any mod is completely safe. All mods mentioned here are available at Nexus Mods. Create a free account and download directly through Mod Organizer 2's integrated browser for the simplest setup.