What you need to know
- Interest in the Fallout franchise is at an all-time high following the release of the Fallout TV show.
- Bethesda has not released a new Fallout game in over five years, and there isn't one on the horizon.
- A creator made a Fallout-inspired RPG that lives entirely within a Microsoft Excel document.
The Fallout TV series has made fans have to check their calendars, and not just to see if canon lines up. In the aftermath of the popular television show's first season, Fallout titles sprinkle the top-seller charts. The nine-year-old Fallout 4 reached 160,000 concurrent players on Steam, and Fallout 76 hit a new all-time high concurrent player count on Steam. With Fallout fervor being higher than any time in recent memory, one person legend decided to step up in place of Bethesda.
It's been over five years since we saw a new Fallout game. That's far too long, said YouTuber Dynamic Pear. The creator decided to take things into their own hands and make a Fallout-inspired RPG game entirely within Microsoft Excel.
The game isn't exactly a Fallout 3 remaster or a new AAA title, but it's certainly entertaining. Dynamic Pearl's creation includes a map you can navigate using Excel. Despite living with a piece of spreadsheet software, the game includes quests, battling, and skilling.
"Battling is the meat and bones of this game and involves D&D style mechanics of initiative, AC, range, and movement," said Dynamic Pearl. "Battling is the only way to level up your character, get more skills and fight harder and progressively scale enemies."
The game is available now and can be downloaded through a link provided by Dynamic Pear.
We need more Fallout
The Fallout franchise has had a passionate fanbase for years, but that base is now larger than ever due to the popularity of the TV show. Bethesda failed to capitalize on this fact. There hasn't been a new Fallout game in over five years, and there aren't any new Fallout titles on the horizon. There are some rumors of a Fallout 3 remaster, but Bethesda has made it clear that it won't work on a new Fallout game until after Elder Scrolls 6 ships.
Our Managing Editor Richard Devine explained the mistakes of Bethesda well:
"I think Xbox, now the Overseer of the Fallout universe, and indeed Bethesda, has been a little short-sighted here. It never took a genius to see that the show would have some kind of impact on the games, after all, we've already seen it happen with The Last of Us. Fallout is bigger than that, it has a wider fan base and a much bigger world to explore. The show first became a reality back in 2020, four years ago.
In those years since, how did nobody think about commissioning a new game, a remake, or another New Vegas style spinoff? Fallout 76 being a live service game at least gives it some legs to keep going, but even in the world of making video games, four years is a long time. Could the original games have been remade in that time? Could Fallout 3 and New Vegas have been given a modern overhaul? Surely something could have been planned?"
Without a new Fallout game, people have had to resort to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to get their fix. At least they can look at the game through a pair of GUNNAR Fallout Vault 33 glasses.
