Fallout just started its second season, but rest assured that the producers are hard at work on the next season already, while game developer Bethesda is making plans for how to tie the show and games even more closely together.
After years of failures, video games are finally getting their due in Hollywood adaptations. One of the biggest is Prime Video’s Fallout, based on the hit games, taking place centuries after a nuclear war ravaged the world. Season 1 was the rarity of a show that pleased game fans and became a critical sensation, with numerous Emmy nominations. Season 2 has pushed Lucy (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) together on a strange “road trip” across the landscape seeking answers to their respective pasts.
Fallout also naturally led to a renewed popularity for the video games, as non-gamers are coming around to them thanks to the show's success. The game and show are set within the same canon, making for an easy crossover system that will continue in the future.
Speaking to Variety, Todd Howard, director at Bethesda Game Studios and executive producer of the TV series, talked about the series’ success and how they’re working on not just season 3, but also integrating the TV storyline into the games and vice versa.
“For us on the game and TV show side, we’re writing season 3 now," Howard said. "We’re having those conversations now of, what are we doing in season 3 for the TV show and what elements can we bring into our games at that time when it comes out that don’t feel forced or fake.”
The games have already added the Burning Springs update for Fallout ‘76, which features Goggins as the Ghoul doling out special bounty hunting missions to players. The show has also resulted in a partnership between Amazon, Bethesda, and Samsung to offer both Fallout '76 and season 1 to Samsung TV owners for free via Game Pass.
It’s a unique touch for the show, which also had a change in its release schedule that may help the show out.
Why is Fallout season 2 now weekly?
One surprise to many was that rather than dropping the entirety of season 2 at once or even the first few episodes, Amazon is dropping Fallout every Wednesday in weekly installments. Howard explained that this will only enhance the experience and leave viewers eager to see what’s next.
“There’s a lot of surprises," he teased. "So the main thing is, we’re dropping an episode every week, so I would just say, stick with it. There’s a lot of surprises, and I’m curious to see how it plays for everybody, because it’s gonna be a weekly show now, as opposed to a binge-watch all at once.”
Howard admitted the shift to a weekly release model may be a change for viewers, but says “It didn’t affect the story we were telling.” He also predicted that season 3 will follow the same schedule.
This does seem to be a good thing for the series as it allows the audience to build up over time, which is harder when studios drop all the episodes in one go. That’s aided other streaming shows such as The Mandalorian, giving each episode much more impact and keeping the audience eager to see what’s next.
So while Fallout season 2 continues, it’s a safe bet season 3 will be even bigger and the connection to the games even tighter!
Fallout season 2 streams new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.