When is Fallout 4 set? Game series timeline explained

Does the new Amazon show connect to Bethesda’s video games? Here’s what we know.

By Matt Poskitt

Published: Thursday, 11 April 2024 at 15:55 PM

Fallout fandom has exploded in the wake of the new Prime Video series that adapts the beloved video game series to TV for the very first time, with many now booting up Fallout 4 to experience the post-apocalyptic wasteland for themselves.

Whether it be for the first time or returning after its launch back in 2015, there’s a lot of curiosity surrounding when the game is set and whether it ties into the new Amazon show – especially in the wake of its positive reviews.

The good news is that though Fallout has been around since the ’90s, there actually haven’t been too many games, so figuring out the timeline isn’t too difficult. Not compared to the likes of Star Wars or Kingdom Hearts anyway.

Regardless, here’s everything we know about when Fallout 4 takes place and whether it connects to the TV show.

When is Fallout 4 set?

Player and dogmeat in Fallout 4
Player and Dogmeat in Fallout 4.
Bethesda

Fallout 4 is set in the year 2287 and takes place within the city of Boston.

This game’s story occurs just before the bomb drops in 2077 and then picks up immediately after the player regains consciousness 210 years later in Vault 111. It’s up to the player to scour the wastelands to discover what happened to their kidnapped son.

When are all the other Fallout games set?

A member of the Brotherhood of Steel in power armour looking at the camera with Washington DC destroyed in the background
Fallout 3.
Bethesda

The original Fallout is set in the year 2161 across the lands of Southern California, while Fallout 2 takes place in 2241 in Northern California. We then fast-forward 138 years to Fallout 3 which heads to the capital of the US with Washington DC.

Fallout: New Vegas then picks up in the Mojave Desert four years after the latter in 2281. The most recent entry in the video game series, Fallout 76, goes back to the year 2102 and puts West Virginia in the spotlight. This is the earliest timeline we’ve had for Fallout yet.

How does the Fallout TV show fit in?

Ella Purnell as Lucy, Walton Goggins as The Ghoul and Aaron Moten as Maximus in Fallout. They are all posing an looking offscreen, and there is also a dog next to them
Ella Purnell as Lucy, Walton Goggins as The Ghoul and Aaron Moten as Maximus in Fallout.
Prime Video

The Fallout TV show on Prime Video is set in the year 2296, so 219 years after the bomb drops and six years after the events of Fallout 4.

Starring Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins, the eight-part series heads to Los Angeles and sees a young woman leaving her home of Vault 33 to explore the devastated city. While this is a standalone story, it does take place in the Fallout universe with references to events of the other video games.

Showrunner Jonathan Nolan also told Total Film that the show is “almost like Fallout 5“, so it will be interesting to see whether any crossover happens when the sequel eventually arrives.

Fallout 4 is available across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. The game can also be played via backwards compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S – that is until the new Fallout 4 next-gen update rolls out later this year.