As time goes on, it has become increasingly clear that Fallout 3 and Oblivion probably won’t get a remaster as Skyrim did. First leaked during the FTC trial documents that were revealed back in 2023, the studio is quite busy with the new Elder Scrolls and Fallout 5 after that.
It’s got a lot on its plate, and focusing on remastering older games is probably at the bottom of its list of priorities. However, it’s also possible that other studios can handle these remasters.
Todd Howard’s Comments and the Skyrim Exception
Todd Howard, the mastermind behind Bethesda and these games, had an interview with Time in 2016 where he spilled some interesting details. He talked about how remastering Skyrim was kind of a one-time thing. The game got its remaster five years after its original release, which is relatively fast in gaming years. That made sense because the game was super popular, and everyone was still talking about it at that time.
Now, Fallout 3 came out way back in 2008, which is 16 years ago. That’s a whole different thing compared to Skyrim’s five-year gap. Howard hinted that the remaster was a special case, not something he’d make a habit of doing. So, hoping for a Fallout remaster might be setting ourselves up for disappointment.
There were also plenty of other games in the leak that didn’t meet their release dates, and some that weren’t even officially announced. These include Dishonored 3, Doom: Year Zero, and The Elder Scrolls VI for fiscal year 2024. We know the new Elder Scrolls is several years away, so this might just have been a placeholder for future games rather than something concrete.
Bethesda Already Has a Lot on Its Plate
Another thing to consider is how busy Bethesda is right now. It’s got a ton on its plate. There were some leaks during the FTC trial that hinted at remasters being in development, which got people excited. But Bethesda is also working on Fallout 5, Starfield DLC, and The Elder Scrolls 6.
Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC is coming later this year. Then there’s Fallout 5, which people are already hyped about even though it’s probably a decade away. And of course, The Elder Scrolls 6, which might be the most anticipated game of all time for a lot of fans.
With all these massive games in the works, it’s hard to see where it’d find the time and resources to remaster Fallout 3. Making a remaster isn’t just about updating graphics; it involves a lot of work to make the game feel modern and fix old bugs.
The game is also pretty dated in its controls and combat, so it would be more ideal to remake it from the ground up rather than just remastering it. And with Xbox’s top developers focused on new titles, a Fallout 3 remaster just seems unlikely, even by another studio.
For fans of Fallout 3, this might be disappointing, but there are other new games by the studio to look forward to. Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 will hopefully be worth the wait.
Are you looking forward to the new games by Bethesda? Let us know in the comments below.
