Nearly 15 years ago, in 2010, developer Obsidian Entertainment sent players to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the western United States with Fallout: New Vegas. Featuring gameplay similar to Bethesda Game Studios’ 2008 action RPG Fallout 3, New Vegas marked a return to the franchise’s roots in more ways than one. Many members of Obsidian’s team were developers from Black Isle Studios who worked on Fallout 1, Fallout 2, and the original, canceled Fallout 3, code named Van Buren. With Fallout: New Vegas receiving another moment in the spotlight, thanks to the second season of Amazon Prime’s Fallout show taking place in the Mojave wasteland, now is a great time for players to start a new playthrough of the 2010 classic.
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Amazon Prime’s Fallout Show Connections to New Vegas
Unlike many video game shows and film adaptations, Amazon Prime’s Fallout series is not a retelling of a particular Fallout story, but it is set in the games’ universe and takes place after the latest mainline entry, Fallout 4. While this is most explicitly shown by the appearance of Fallout 4’s Brotherhood of Steel Prydwen airship, there are also several ways that the show connects to Obsidian’s last Fallout game. The show is primarily set near Los Angeles, California in the year 2296, nine years after the events of Fallout 4 and 15 years after Fallout: New Vegas. Over the course of those 15 years, much has changed for the western wasteland, with the most disastrous event being the destruction of the New California Republic’s capital city, Shady Sands.
While Shady Sands doesn’t appear in Fallout: New Vegas, the NCR’s presence in the game was vital. New Vegas showed off the NCR at its peak military might, best exemplified by the Veteran Rangers, whose armor can be seen worn by two scavengers in the show. In flashbacks to Cooper Howard’s interaction with Vault-Tec, Robert House, founder of RobCo Industries and future overseer of the New Vegas Strip, can be seen conspiring with Vault-Tec to nuke the United States. Finally, as the first season of Fallout concluded, audiences got a glimpse of New Vegas itself when Hank MacLean escaped the remnants of NCR and Brotherhood forces.
Amazon Prime’s Fallout show was seen by over 100 million people, making it the second most-watched title on Prime Video.
How to Prepare for Fallout Season 2 in New Vegas
While some longtime Fallout fans may have played through Fallout: New Vegas dozens of times over the past decade and a half, it would still be a good idea for old and new fans alike to replay New Vegas to better prepare themselves for Fallout season 2. Filming for the second season has already begun, and, despite delays caused by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, fans have already seen familiar sites from New Vegas recreated in real life for the show, such as Dinky the T-Rex, the Welcome to New Vegas sign, and the Tops Hotel. However, it’s unknown if any of New Vegas’ other iconic sites beyond the strip, such as the Hoover Dam, Jacobstown, or Goodsprings, will also appear in the show.
Fallout: New Vegas was a massive RPG for its time, allowing players to play either minuscule or major roles in impacting the fates of the Mojave wasteland’s varied inhabitants. Players could choose to align themselves with the NCR, Caesar’s Legion, the Brotherhood of Steel, Mr. House, or even the comical artificial intelligence Yes Man for dominance over the New Vegas Strip and the Hoover Dam. Siding with any of these factions directly impacts the player’s reputation with the others and forever shapes the future of post-apocalyptic Nevada. While it’s too early to tell which faction is the canonical victor over these battlefronts, replaying Fallout: New Vegas can help fans imagine the state of New Vegas ahead of the Fallout show’s second season.
Fallout: New Vegas’ Factions Explained
The Amazon Prime Fallout series showcased a few of the franchise’s most iconic factions, such as the Brotherhood, Enclave, and NCR, but there’s still a variety of factions and communities the second season could spotlight from Fallout: New Vegas. The most prominent one is Caesar’s Legion, a Roman Empire-inspired totalitarian dictatorship which sought to conquer and enslave people west of the Colorado River. While its leader, Caesar, may have died after the events of New Vegas, remnants of his Legion could still pose a threat in the show. Another community that could be spotlighted is Jacobstown, a nonviolent community of Super Mutants and Nightkin. These mutated humans were left out of Fallout’s first season, but their presence could make for interesting interactions in the show.
- Released
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October 19, 2010
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs