Brian Fargo, the co-founder of Interplay, recently shared insights about the original vision for the Fallout series. He revealed that the game started out as an intention to create a sequel to Wasteland. This historical footnote is intriguing, given that the franchise has since overshadowed its origins, including Wasteland itself.

Wasteland has been dormant in recent years but experienced a resurgence in the early 2020s after its remaster in 2020 and the release of Wasteland 3.

Brian Fargo Discusses the Transition to Fallout

In a conversation with MrMattyPlays, Fargo stated that the Fallout project initially aimed to be Wasteland 2. He noted that the series has exceeded their original aspirations and emphasized that many may not realize it began as a sequel to Wasteland. He mentioned, “We were actually working on it for a while,” but ultimately the development team had to change course, evolving it into what we now know as Fallout.

While there are noticeable similarities between the titles, Fargo specifically mentioned the evolution of Deathclaws from their early design as Shadowclaws. He pointed out that after some thought, the team wanted to distinguish the new product enough to avoid legal issues with Electronic Arts, the original publisher of Wasteland. Notably, early concept art depicted Deathclaws with a werewolf-like look, a direction that was ultimately abandoned to further differentiate the two gaming franchises.

Tim Cain, another key figure involved in the Fallout series, remarked that Fallout was meant to be a spiritual successor to Wasteland, though the team had already set a distinctive path when they discovered they could not secure the Wasteland license. In the end, while Cain developed Fallout and Fallout 2, Fargo revisited the Wasteland concept later on with Wasteland 2 and 3, releasing them through inXile Entertainment, which he founded.

Fallout Landscape

For the full discussion, check the interview on MrMattyPlays.