Tim Cain, the lead developer behind the original Fallout, has been active on YouTube sharing insights from his unique career. Recently, he discussed the painful loss of early development materials for Fallout, lamenting this missed opportunity for preserving the game’s heritage.

“The amount of stuff that’s been lost about Fallout and its early development saddens me,” said Cain.

Last year, Cain revealed that due to threats from his former publisher Interplay, he was compelled to destroy crucial development artifacts, which included notes and various builds.

In a recent video, he voiced his concerns over game preservation, criticizing many organizations for their poor handling of archival materials,

“There’s a lot of organizations out there that demand to be the archive keeper, and then they do a terrible job at it,” Cain expressed.

He highlighted the contrast between his experience and the current state of the Fallout franchise, noting that while Interplay lost their archive, the retail code has been preserved.

Cain also emphasized that many of the original game elements, such as artwork and design notes, had been discarded.

“I think it’s even happening for the ‘00s and the ‘10s and probably now in the ‘20s. Stuff is being lost,” he lamented.

Organizations dedicated to preserving video game history, such as the Video Game History Foundation, are actively working to prevent further losses and to ensure that future generations can access historic materials.