While Bethesda has hinted in the past that the TV show may influence the games, the extent of that connection hasn’t been shown yet. Now, fans are taking to Reddit to debate a pretty polarizing mechanic of the series.
Should Fallout 5 Have Base Building?
Fans Are Divided
Fans are already debating whether Fallout 5 should include base building, a mechanic popularized in Fallout 4 and brought to Fallout 76. As you might expect, opinions run the gamut of positive and negative, all the way to apathetic.
Given the sheer amount of creations that have been shown off on social media from the Fallout community, it’s safe to say a lot of people enjoy the feature: “I loved settlement building. Was it buggy as all hell? Yes. Could it have used some more refining? For sure! Do I want another Fallout title without it? No. Being able to build a lil post apocalyptic community for my crew and I added so much personal enjoyment. It really made my little corner of hell feel like home, and I’d be disappointed if it didn’t return.”
Some are on the fence, but only if it has more quality of life changes: “I would love for it to come back but with some improvements. It would also be nice to be able to choose your locations. There were some awesome places I think should have been settlements in FO4. Had to use mods to settle them.”
A few fans aren’t alone in noting that they don’t really want anything to do with base building in Fallout going forward: “I’d rather it didn’t. It’s all well and good, it’s been optional, but the reality is, game development resources are finite. More time will be spent on building assets and leaving empty areas than worldbuilding. The thing that appeals to me in a Bethesda game is established lore, history, and design of a settlement, town, or city. You don’t get that with settlement building. Just a load of bland NPCs.”
Others are in, but only as a limited feature that doesn’t dominate the gameplay: “I’d rather have more detailed settlements and then at the end or near endgame, you have a big area to build something for all of your companions and others who want to join.”
When Is Fallout 5 Coming Out?
It Might Be A While
Evidence would suggest that Fallout 5 is years away at this point. Not only does Bethesda have its work cut out for it with The Elder Scrolls 6, but it’s also consulting on the TV show and anything else it’s working on behind the scenes (including Starfield updates and expansions).In fact, it’s been suggested that Bethesda may offload the development of Fallout 5 to another studio, similar to what was done with New Vegas and Obsidian.
Either way, a lot is on the way for Fallout fans. It might take a while in the gaming arena, but the TV show has been pumping out seasons at a fast pace.