Todd Howard changed Fallout TV show to avoid clashes with Fallout 5

The Fallout TV show team was told to avoid certain details and plot points by Todd Howard in order to not double up with the ever-looming Fallout 5 game.

Video game adaptations have never been more popular, the likes of The Last of Us, The Witcher, Sonic the Hedgehog, and more all being transformed into either TV shows or films. 

And while previously, the video game “curse” had meant these adaptations struggled critically and financially, there has been a massive turn around in recent years in regards to the quality and success of video game adaptations.

As such, another major video game adaptation is set to release in 2024, with Amazon Prime’s Fallout series aiming to release on the platform throughout April 2024.

The Fallout franchise is a beloved video game world, developer Bethesda winning over fans with its post-apocalyptic RPG series. The last game in the series to release, Fallout 4, was the highest-selling game in the history of the franchise.

Given this, it is expected that a Fallout 5 game will be released at some point in the future. Likely after Bethesda eventually drops the next Elder Scrolls game. Though who knows how far off that still is.

Now it appears the ever-looming Fallout 5 game was a major factor when working out the story for the Amazon series. Jonathan Nolan, a producer for the Fallout TV show, joked in a new interview with Den of Geeks that “we know all about Fallout 5; we’re not telling anyone.”

Co-showrunner for the Fallout series Graham Wagner then added, “I think we made Fallout 6.”

In response to this, Bethesda boss Todd Howard revealed that he specifically told the TV crew to avoid certain beats and elements because they could be prominent to the Fallout 5 experience.

“Well, there were some things where I said, ‘Don’t do this because we are going to do that in Fallout 5.’”

While there is little information about Fallout 5, this tease from the Fallout TV show team and Howard does indicate that Bethesda does have an idea of what the next game will include. However, it is still unknown how far into development for the game they are.

Amazon Prime’s Fallout series is set to debut on the platform on April 11, 2024.