It looks like Bethesda is gearing up to announce a Fallout game. Bethesda Game Studios, the in-house developer behind the post-apocalyptic franchise, tweeted the well-known testing screen with the words “Please Stand By.”
#PleaseStandBy pic.twitter.com/5IUjkURCcM
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) May 29, 2018
The question is: What exactly could Bethesda announce?
Before you get too excited, it seems highly unlikely that a brand new Fallout game will be revealed any time soon. The studio is also responsible for the Elder Scrolls franchise and has the two popular franchises on a rotation as of late. And remember, Fallout 4 launched in 2015, while The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released all the way back in 2011. Unless Bethesda’s mindset has changed, a new Elder Scrolls experience, which is already in development, will precede the inevitable arrival of Fallout 5.
The most likely Fallout release on the horizon is probably a remaster or remake of Fallout 3 for current generation consoles. Fallout 3 turns 10 on October 28, and Bethesda has released anniversary editions for its games in the past (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion received a five-year anniversary iteration in 2011).
If the tease indeed pertains to Fallout 3‘s anniversary, PS4 and Xbox One versions would be safe bets, but what about Switch? Bethesda has ported Doom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Skyrim to Switch already, so there’s some precedent. And if the Switch can handle Skyrim, it shouldn’t have a problem running Fallout 3.
Of course, there is always the chance that the tease could be for a mobile game. After all, Fallout Shelter performed extraordinarily well, and conventional wisdom suggests that Bethesda will try its hand at mobile once again.
We would love to see a remaster of Fallout 3, but would it be too much to ask for a remastered collection that includes Fallout: New Vegas? Yeah, probably. How about a Switch port of Fallout 4? That would be cool, too.
With E3 a couple short weeks away, it won’t be long until we hear what Bethesda is up to on the Fallout front. Bethesda’s press conference takes place on June 10 at 6:30 p.m. PT.
In the meantime, check out our Bethesda E3 press conference expectations and our running list of all the games we know and expect to see at E3.