Fallout creator hits back at angry fans over TV show lore changes: “Lore drift is inevitable in big IPs”

“Every single Fallout game changed a little in the games that came before. It always happens, the lore has always drifted a little. Fallout 2 changed somethings from Fallout 1 – it happens.”

When we last saw Tim Cain, he only had good things to say about the Fallout live-action TV series. Now that he’s sat down and watched Amazon’s Fallout Season One in its entirety, he’s sticking with Bethesda on what’s considered canon in the Fallout lore.

We’ve seen a lot of contention in the Fallout community, mainly concerning the appearance of Sandy Shades and New Vegas in the TV series potentially changing the canon status of Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and considered by many to be the best game in the franchise.

Fallout creator Tim Cain lightly addresses the negative comments towards the possibility that Bethesda is “messing with established canon lore” in his review on the Fallout TV show.

Unlike other game-to-TV adaptations, Fallout manages to please the masses with an engaging story and series-accurate designs without sacrificing that “Fallout feel” to make a show that will appeal to a broader audience. “Everything feels like Fallout, and that’s hard to do.” Tim continues, “It’s easy to write post-apocalyptic stuff that doesn’t fit in the Fallout mold—but they didn’t.”

A large complaint fans have is that the timeline the series is using may be inaccurate compared to what we know from the games. Tim Cain also notices this and comments, “There’s no master calendar you can refer to. Maybe they’re just unreliable narrators. Fallout has a history in a lot of the games of having people tell you something that isn’t true.”

Another issue is what endings of each Fallout title are considered canon in the grand scheme of the franchise, as most games present multiple endings per your play style. Tim is also unaware of how the TV show will have it but is excited about the future, “I talk about how you have to pick a canonical ending when you do a sequel. Who knows what canonical ending they have in mind for these games that lead to this Fallout TV show timeline? I hope we find out.”

While Tim praises the series’ story-building, “There’s no exposition. There was never a narrator,” he does address the difficulty for an audience member who hasn’t played the games trying to watch the Fallout show: “If you haven’t played the games, I think you’ve got a bit of a bump there to try to figure out everything that’s going on, but I believe it’s something you can figure it out.”

In a final statement, Tim again assures fans that Bethesda has the final say on Fallout lore, not him, not fans, and not strictly older games. “I’m not in charge of this anymore; neither are you. Basically, anything Bethesda does from now on, that’s canon.”