Larian Studios’ multi-award-winning fantasy RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3, is set for its own TV series on HBO, and will be helmed by The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin.
As reported by Deadline, a television adaptation of the acclaimed game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe is in development at the network, and interestingly, will be a continuation of the story from the Baldur’s Gate 3 game. The television show will reportedly take place after the events of Larian’s RPG and follow the characters players grew to love over time as they grapple with the aftermath of its world-changing ending.
The series will be helmed by Craig Mazin, no stranger to adapting video games to live action, following his work co-creating HBO’s The Last of Us with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann. A huge fan of Baldur’s Gate 3, Mazin told Deadline that “After putting nearly 1000 hours into the incredible world of Baldur’s Gate 3, it is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of The Coast created”.
“I am a devoted fan of D&D and the brilliant way that Swen Vincke and his gifted team adapted it”, he continued. “I can’t wait to help bring Baldur’s Gate and all of its incredible characters to life with as much respect and love as we can, and I’m deeply grateful to Gabe Marano and his team at Hasbro for entrusting me with this incredibly important property.”
By taking on this project that has no ties to any other Baldur’s Gate game in the pipeline, Mazin will have free rein over what story he wishes to tell, but we do know that it will include both existing and brand new members of the BG3 cast. Shadowheart? Karlach? Astarion? Who are you most looking forward to seeing on your television screen? Mazin reportedly plans to reach out to the cast of the games to sound out how best to approach their roles in the TV show, and if they’d want to be involved, something The Last of Us did with Merle Dandridge reprising her role as Marlene, for example.
Of course, the ending of Larian’s multiple game of the year award-winning RPG can vary massively depending on how you chose to play the game, so it will be highly intriguing to see how Mazin and co. go about choosing which ending is canon for them.
It may well be a while yet before we see Baldur’s Gate arrive on the small screen, with Mazin still attached to complete production on The Last of Us, which is gearing up for its third, and maybe final, season.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
Embark Studios has opened up about how it will make the second Expedition in Arc Raiders more enticing after the first left its community wanting more.
The developer behind the popular sci-fi extraction shooter updated fans with a blog post on its website. Included are a February 25 sign-up date and a March 1 departure date for the account reset event, as players are told to look forward to more worthwhile rewards before sending their beloved Raiders into the unknown and starting from scratch.
Stash value requirements were the first thing Embark addressed, telling fans that they’ll now need just 3 million coins to reach the maximum bonus of five skill points. That means you’ll need only 600,000 per point, a significantly more achievable task than the previous Expedition’s ask of 1 million per skill point.
What’s more, Raiders who participated the first time around but didn’t amass enough coins can benefit from a new catch-up feature. Missed points can be claimed for 300,000 each, with coins first going toward Expedition 2 before being used for the makeup points for Expedition 1. In other words, you’ll need the 3 million for the five new skill points and an additional 300,000 per skill point missed. As Raiders jump into Expeditions for the first time, they’ll need to start by unlocking rewards from Expedition 1, leaving the catch-up feature only for returning players.
Other new permanent rewards for the second reset include a new Scrappy outfit, an evolved Patchwork outfit with more toggles and colors, and, thankfully, 12 more stash space slots. Returning expeditioners gain 5% more XP (10% total), a 6% boost to Scrappy materials (12% total), and a 10% increase to repair value (70% total).
All of the upcoming changes to Expeditions arrive after Embark noted a somewhat disappointing reception to its first crack at the account wipe feature. Design director Virgil Watkins told PCGamesN last month that “a little over a million players” successfully cleared their accounts and suggested the studio would keep its ear to the ground going forward.
“We completely acknowledge that it isn’t the most engaging thing to just go for money,” he said at the time, “[and it has] the potential outcome of disincentivizing using your gear, which is kind of what people look forward to towards the end of a reset cycle. So yeah, we’re looking at revisions on that.”
Arc Raiders launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S October 30, 2025. Its Escalation roadmap laid out Embark’s early 2026 plans late last month, with Expedition windows planned for February and April. Headwinds kicked things off with a solo vs. squads queue option and the Bird City map condition when it arrived January 27.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Ubisoft has reportedly canceled a multiplayer, cooperative Assassin’s Creed title that has been in development at French studio Ubisoft Annecy.
This comes from a report by French publication Origami, which IGN has independently translated. According to the report, the project was codenamed “AC League”, was originally conceived as a DLC for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and would have potentially taken place in the same feudal Japan era. The DLC would have involved four assassins joining forces to take on a series of scripted missions with up to four players that would have ultimately concluded the story told in the game’s (canceled) Season Pass. You may have already heard of AC League if you pay close attention to Assassin’s Creed gossip, as it was previously rumored last year in a report from Insider Gaming.
The project, Origami reports, was apparently fairly ambitious and was intended to serve as a baseline for future multiplayer features throughout the series, such as a return to a hybrid solo/multiplayer playstyle as existed in Assassin’s Creed Unity or Black Flag (a remake of which has been rumored for some time now). However, as the AC League project progressed, directors at Ubisoft Annecy reportedly began to question whether it made sense to attach League to Shadows, as they worried it would take too long to make, and came up with a different plan that turned it into a small, standalone title borrowing pieces of the Assassin’s Creed: Shadows open world. Development on this progressed with an intended invite-only alpha planned for May of 2026.
Unfortunately, AC League was allegedly just the latest victim of the ongoing upheaval at Ubisoft. For several months now, the company has been undergoing a massive restructure alongside major cost-cutting measures, canceling numerous projects, closing studios, and reorganizing its creative houses. It was to this restructuring that AC League fell victim, with leadership at Ubisoft Annecy being informed just last week that AC League was being canceled.
However, there is still a sliver of hope for the project, Origami reports. Apparently, a handful of Annecy employees have been selected to transfer the technical advancements the team made back into the company’s proprietary Anvil engine, with the goal of eventually making it easier to add replayable multiplayer modes to future Assassin’s Creed titles that would be less expensive to develop. Unfortunately, that leaves more than a quarter of the 270 individuals working at Annecy without a project at the moment, leaving a lot of lingering anxiety that layoffs may be coming next.
IGN has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
Ubisoft’s quarterly earnings will be reported next week, and all eyes are on the company to see if it can pull itself together amid some drastic financial times. Upon last reporting, the company had thrown out its previous fiscal year guidance for new, significantly reduced financial expectations, reflective of the fact that the company just closed two stories, laid off a lot of employees, and canceled six projects. It’s also handed off its three biggest franchises to Vantage Studios, a newly-created business entity owned by Ubisoft but with a 25% stake from Tencent to help keep the lights on.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
We now have our hands on the Nintendo Switch 2, a new console from one of the biggest names in gaming. Alas, a new console is only as valuable as the library of games you can build on it.
Thankfully, Nintendo hasn’t been shy about planned releases over the next year, which include a mix of Switch 2 exclusives, third-party releases, and the benefit of backward compatibility with any games still launching on the original Switch. Without further ado, here are all of the new Switch 2 games we can look forward to in 2026.
All Upcoming Switch 2 Games With Release Dates
PGA Tour 2K25 (February 6, 2026)
If you found Wii Sports golf to be a little too easy, here you go. PGA Tour, 2K’s golf series, is coming to a Nintendo console for the first time since 2K21. Take on tournaments as your favorite pro player or build up your own character through the MyCareer mode. IGN’s 8/10 review gave the game some solid praise, highlighting that “new swing mechanics, paired with the significantly improved graphics, makes for a much more realistic ambiance.” Let’s hope that performance holds up on the Switch 2.
Tokyo Scramble (February 11, 2026)
Tokyo has been destroyed in a massive cave-in. In the aftermath, Anne wakes up underground to find a subterranean organization filled with creatures called Zeno. If they catch you, they’ll kill you. To escape, you’ll have to focus on stealth. Announced during the February Nintendo Partner Direct, Tokyo Scramble is launching on Switch 2 pretty darn soon.
Paranormasight: A Mermaid’s Curse (February 19, 2026)
Yuza Minakuchi is working as a pearl diver who encounters another version of himself on the sea floor. As strange incidents continue to plague his home island, he must investigate a curious cast of characters throughout the town as well as mysteries in the water.
Mario Tennis Fever (February 12, 2026)*
Mario Tennis is making its return with the first new release since 2018’s Mario Tennis Aces. The sports game will continue the more recent tradition of a Story Mode alongside Tournament, Trial Towers, and Mix It Up modes, all while featuring a whopping 38 playable characters.
Blazblue Entropy Effect X (February 12, 2026)
Next up, we’re getting an expanded, console version of the Blazblue spin-off originally released for mobile and PC in 2023. The action roguelite sets you on an adventure into the Sea of Possibility with new characters and story additions.
Reanimal (February 12, 2026)
From the creators of Little Nightmares 1 and 2 (not 3, keep that in mind), Reanimal is a new co-op horror game. Tap in a friend to play as siblings who must traverse through some incredibly creepy environments to rescue their missing friends. The game also supports a single-player mode.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 + Dark Ties (February 12, 2026)
Yep, there are a lot of games coming out on February 12. To add to the bunch, RGG is releasing what we called a “much-needed” Yakuza 3 remake alongside a completely new companion story. Yakuza Kiwami 3 brings combat and QoL improvements to the original game, while Dark Ties lets you play out antagonist Yoshitaka Mine’s rise to power in the criminal underworld.
Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown (February 18, 2026)
Have you ever wished you could take control of the USS Voyager? Well, here’s your chance. The latest Star Trek game throws you and your ship 700,000 light years into Deep Space, tasking you with managing resources and your crew to make your way out in one piece.
Pretty soon after the Fallout TV wrapped up its second season, the Anniversary Edition of Fallout 4 will be coming to Switch 2 consoles. The game lets you customize your character to your heart’s content, but ultimately places you on a quest through the wasteland to find your son, Shawn, after centuries of being cryo-frozen. While the Anniversary Edition has gotten some criticism for its pricing, this is the first mainline Fallout RPG to release on a Nintendo console.
Alongside the newest Resident Evil game, the Switch 2 will also be getting “Gold” editions of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, available separately or as part of a Resident Evil Generation Pack collection.
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse (March 5, 2026)
From PocketPair, Never Grave is a new 2D roguelite where you harness magic powers (as a hat, of course) to journey into the deep, working to help a young witch retrieve her soul. You also have a home base you can build and upgrade into your own little village.
Coffee Talk Tokyo (March 5, 2026)
We finally have a release date for the next iteration of Coffee Talk, a cozy cafe series developed by Toge Productions. Manage a new but familiar cafe while learning more about your human and yokai customers.
WWE 2K26 (March 13, 2026)
There may be a surprisingly large amount of sports games on the Switch, but one franchise that is only just starting their relationship with the Nintendo consoles is WWE. Following the Switch 2 Edition of WWE 2K25, WWE 2K26 will be launching on Switch 2 consoles the day of its official release.
We’re getting a third game in the Monster Hunter Stories series, a sub-series of Monster Hunter that we’re pretty big fans of (we gave the first one an 8.9/10, and the second got an 8/10). The next story will follow a civil conflict between Azuria and Vermeil, two nations threatened by a “crystal encroachment.” A demo is available now, with players able to carry over their save data to the full game.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (March 26, 2026)*
Nintendo knows they have some modern classics, and they’re giving them a lot of love with this Switch 2 release. Following up on last year’s Super Mario Galaxy remaster, Nintendo is releasing a Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which we originally said “establishes a new standard for what 2D Mario platformers should look like” in our 9/10 review. The Switch 2 edition will feature a new area called Bellabel Park, new playable characters, and tons of new mini-games.
Goat Simulator 3 (April 1, 2026)
A bit of a throwback to the 2010’s and the era of the screaming goats memes, but the latest Goat Simulator release from 2022 will be getting a Switch 2 edition this spring.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (April 16, 2026)*
Tomodachi Life was a particularly unique game under the Nintendo umbrella, and I was pretty darn excited to see the series coming back on the Switch 2. The concept of creating Miis and watching them interact on a little island has more novelty than you can imagine, I promise, especially given the range of customization. Nintendo has also fulfilled their promise to introduce more inclusivity after criticisms of the original 3DS game.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream happened to get its own dedicated Nintendo Direct, where you’ll find gameplay footage and plenty more information.
Pragmata (April 24, 2026)
After a series of delays dating back to 2021, Capcom finally “re-revealed” Pragmata with a firm release date and confirmation of cross-platform support. Hugh Williams gets injured while exploring a lunar-controlled space station, where he finds Diana, a Pragmata android. The two are classified as intruders, and must combine their hacking and shooting skills to find the truth of the space station. You can learn more about this one in our hands-on preview.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (May 12, 2026)
Set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, this MachineGames adventure game places Indy on a quest for the secret of the Great Circle. Travel the world, from the Great Pyramids to sunken temples, infiltrate historic areas, and beat up baddies during your daring escapes. We had a lot of love for this one when it originally launched on consoles and PC, calling it “far and away the best Indy story this century” in our 9/10 review.
The second part of the Final Fantasy VII revamp is coming to Switch 2 consoles this summer. After escaping the city of Midgar, Cloud and co. must traverse across a massive beautiful world in pursuit of Sephiroth. IGN’s 9/10 review describes the game as “both a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenge and depth, and as an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.”
Besides the graphics update, Rebirth introduces a new affinity system with allies and, yes, a ridiculous amount of side quests and mini-games.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales (June 18, 2026)*
The Adventures of Elliot is a new HD-2D RPG from the creators of Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default. While exploring ruins near his hometown, Elliot discovers an artifact that lets him traverse space and time. From there, you must travel across four ages, each with unique citizens and scenery, to try and save your home.
Upcoming Switch 2 Games With Unknown Release Dates
There are plenty more Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 games in development that don’t have a solid release date yet. Here are some more games we know are on the way:
A new island just came to Fortnite that features a digital reimagining of Qatar’s capital city, Doha, as well as Hamad International Airport and a Qatar Airways aircraft. Called QVerse Island, it’s meant to give travelers an immersive way to experience the sights of the city and its airport. There are lots of minigames, a glimpse at some of the city’s unique architecture, and a hidden golden ticket that you can find for a chance to win a free Qatar Airways flight.
You can reach QVerse Island within Fortnite by searching for “QVerse” or using code 6020-0265-6735. When you arrive on the island, you’ll pull up to Hamad International Airport and get a look at the skyline of Doha with re-creations of its real-life skyscrapers. You’ll be greeted by Sama, Qatar Airways’ digital cabin crew member, who will give you five quests to complete.
After you’ve talked to her, you’re free to explore the city and do things in whatever order you choose. Right off the bat, you’ll see floating coins that give you 10 gold each. You can spend that gold at the airport vending machines for things like faster running speed, a jetpack that lets you double jump, or consumable items. You can also look for a hidden door that takes you inside the Business Class cabin of a Qatar Airways aircraft, where you’ll join other Fortnite characters as passengers.
Once you exit the airport and make your way to the street, you’ll see you can summon a car with one button press, making traversal of the city quick and easy. Your HUD will have icons for the island’s biggest attractions, which is also where you can complete the quests Sama gave you. These are some of real-life Qatar’s most recognizable landmarks, like the National Museum of Qatar, West Bay, Katara Towers, and The Pearl Island. And QVerse Island has a persistent day/night cycle, so you can watch the sunset around these locations and see the whole city light up at night.
Each location has a minigame associated with it. At the National Museum of Qatar, you’re given a scavenger hunt to find five lost artifacts that lie scattered around the city. At West Bay, you can use your summoned car to complete a time trial race. At Katara Towers, you’ll need to cross between the towers, high in the air, while a rotating bar tries to knock you off. And at The Pearl Island, you can take on a parkour obstacle course that runs across the rooftops of the city.
While you’re exploring, you’ll notice a timer counting down to the next departure. Once the countdown finishes, you’ll be transported to a multiplayer minigame with other people currently on the island. There are four minigames in all: Wild Wheels Safari, Neon City Drop, Jumpus Maximus, and Home Run Rush. For all four, the last person standing wins.
In Wild Wheels Safari, you drive cars around a desert arena while floor tiles gradually fall away. If you fall into a hole, you’re eliminated. Neon City Drop is a similar concept, but you’re on foot and the floor is made up of brightly colored panels that fall away over time. Jumpus Maximus puts you on a giant spinning wheel in the air while rotating bars of different heights try to knock you off. And Home Run Rush gives everyone a superpowered baseball bat that can launch other players out of the stadium.
In between all the fun and games, you can explore QVerse Island to find the golden ticket. You’ll get an on-screen alert letting you know in what area of the map it just spawned, and then it’s up to you to find it. It only stays in one place for a few minutes, so you need to hurry before it moves again.
Once you find it, take a screenshot of your in-game character with it. Then post that photo to Instagram, Facebook, or X/Twitter with the hashtag #FlyWithQR, follow Qatar Airways on Instagram, and you’ll be entered in a drawing. A winning entry will be randomly selected, and that person will win a Qatar Airways flight ticket. There will be a new drawing each week and the contest will run for 10 weeks. If you don’t win one week, you can try again the next.
QVerse Island is available to explore now, and between February 7–20, gaming content creators around the world will join in on the fun, too. So be sure to check that out. Who knows who you’ll get to face off against in all those minigames? To keep up with the latest news and updates from Qatar Airways, you can follow them on Instagram, Facebook, or X/Twitter.
Bethesda has trumpeted the news that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be squeezed onto a proper Switch 2 Game Card for its physical release — though other titles coming to the console will just be codes in a box.
During today’s Partner Direct broadcast focusing on upcoming games coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Bethesda boss Todd Howard briefly appeared to welcome a swathe of games coming to Nintendo’s newest console.
In a press release sent to IGN following the broadcast, Bethesda has now detailed its launch plans further, and announced on social media that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would get a full-fat cartridge launch, rather than on one of Nintendo’s widely-disliked Game-Key Cards.
Bethesda’s social post has received a string of praise, with many fans wondering how the game has been made to fit onto a Switch 2 cartridge. “Wow, totally unexpected,” wrote Digital Foundry veteran and game preservation fan John Linneman in response.
As announced (and leaked) earlier today, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch digitally and physically on May 12. The game’s DLC, The Order of Giants, will also be available download separately on that date.
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition launches digitally on February 24 and physically on April 28. Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available digitally already, and will come in a box on April 28. Finally, Oblivion Remastered has a vague “2026” launch window for now.
Square Enix is planning to “share more updates than ever before” on its Final Fantasy 7 Remake project this year, according to game director Naoki Hamaguchi.
“We’ve announced that FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH will launch on June 3.
“With the addition of Switch 2 and Xbox, the game will be released as a full multi‑platform title.
“This year, we plan to share more updates on the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Project than ever before.
“We look forward to celebrating together with even more players around the world.”
We’ve announced that FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH will launch on June 3. With the addition of Switch 2 and Xbox, the game will be released as a full multi‑platform title. This year, we plan to share more updates on the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Project than ever before. We look… https://t.co/GFImeiPiC7pic.twitter.com/f0TaiDHlhJ
— 浜口直樹 /FFVII REBIRTH launches on Switch2&Xbox Jun 3 (@nhamaguc) February 5, 2026
This is exciting news for Remake fans, who have been on the edge of their seats for the last few years, waiting for news of the third game in the trilogy, which we have yet to see at all. Though Hamaguchi didn’t outright say it, this feels like a tease for a reveal this year. Rebirth left the story on one heck of a cliffhanger, with players left doubting whether the game’s most famous twist really took place or not. The third game has a lot of work to do to land the plot plane set up by Remake and Rebirth, and it will be interesting to see how Square Enix does it. Fans have already been speculating as to what Part 3 will be called, following the “Remake” and “Rebirth” titles as well as “Reunion” on the recent Crisis Core remake. Popular suggestions include Reincarnation, Revival, Reawakening, Redemption, and Return.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was also excellent, with us giving it a 9/10 and saying it “impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion, both as a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenges and an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Fans of 2023’s Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, got a delightful surprise this morning during the Nintendo Partner Direct, with the reveal of a surprise sequel coming to Nintendo Switch. It’s called Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, and it’s coming out in just two weeks, on February 19.
The Mermaid’s Curse follows a young pearl diver named Yuza who one day, while working, sees a ghostly version of himself. This sets off a chain of other strange incidents: corpses washing up, a girl with no memories, and townsfolks with ulterior motives. As Yuza, you’ll question people around the island to try and find out what’s going on, while also diving into the waters of the bay for clues. All of it has ties somehow to a centuries-old legend of a mermaid, and true to form, it all seems kind of creepy!
The original Paranormasight debuted in 2023 on Switch, PC, and mobile. While thematically similar, it told a different mystery story with different characters, and it’s unclear if there will be narrative times between The Seven Mysteries of Honjo and The Mermaid’s Curse. The first Paranormasight was well-received, and currently stands at an 85 critic score and 8.9 user score on Metacritic. We’re still waiting to hear if the new game will come to other platforms, but given the mobile and PC releases of The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, it seems like a reasonable expectation.
You can catch up on everything announced at today’s Nintendo Direct right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Wait, Leon Kennedy is in Resident Evil: Requiem? Yeah, okay, we’ve known that for a bit now, perhaps longer than Capcom wanted us too. But what is news today is that the long-rumored Leon S. Kennedy amiibo is real, and coming alongside the previously announced Grace Ashcroft amiibo this summer.
This was announced during today’s Nintendo Partner Direct, which showed a trailer for Reqiuem mostly containing footage and news we’ve seen already. We knew about the February 27 release date, the Gold Editions of Resident Evils 7 and 8 releasing alongside it, and the special Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller. We’d also already heard about the Grace Ashcroft amiibo before.
But we didn’t actually know about Leon. He was, uh, strongly suspected, even before we officially knew he was going to be in the game, something Capcom tried to keep hidden way longer than was necessary. Since his officialy reveal at The Game Awards, we’ve seen a sudden surge of love for the classic protagonist, with fans referring to him as a “Hot Uncle” and comparing him to Keanu Reaves. He’s set to be getting a roughly equal amount of screentime to fellow protagonist Grace, so it only makes sense they’d both get amiibos.
You can catch up on everything announced at today’s Nintendo Partner Direct right here.
With perfect timing, the modders behind the Van Buren remake in Fallout: New Vegas have released a new teaser trailer.
UnitedWestTeam released the teaser, which sets up Fallout: The New West, the fan-made total conversion mod for Fallout: New Vegas inspired by Fallout: Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 that was in development at Black Isle Studios in the early 2000s before the franchise moved over to Bethesda.
Fallout: The New West aims to adapt the core narrative threads of Van Buren and turn them into a fully playable story built in the New Vegas engine. Expect modern gameplay systems, expanded roleplaying opportunities, and “the mechanical depth and tone that defined classic Fallout,” the modders said.
Here’s the official blurb:
Fallout: The New West is a fan-made total conversion mod for Fallout: New Vegas. In many ways, it tells the same broad story envisioned by Fallout: Van Buren, but restructured and expanded to form a cohesive, playable experience. The project’s primary narrative goal is to take the disparate plot threads and unfinished concepts found in the original design documents, including for example, the NCR–Brotherhood conflict, the Great Tribal War between Caesar’s Legion and the Daughters of Hecate, the fight for the soul of the Mormon State and much more, and weave them into a satisfying, unified narrative that adheres to the main plot as described in the design documents.
Players assume the role of a new protagonist, released from captivity in 2253, known as “the Prisoner,” and the story is set in an alternate continuity that predates and reinterprets the events of Fallout: New Vegas. Unfortunately due to many Van Buren concepts being folded into FNV, we cannot set the project in the same timeline. Our secondary goal is to incorporate many of the modern gameplay conveniences introduced through Fallout: New Vegas and its more than 15 years of modding, while preserving the distinctive mechanics and design quirks of classic Fallout found in the original design documents. Much of Fallout’s original charm is an acquired taste, and one that we believe remains worth acquiring.
It sounds exciting, and given the success of Fallout: London, which had Bethesda’s blessing, it may even have a chance of survival. Indeed, a new demo is apparently due out soon (an initial demo, which released under the name Fallout Revelation Blues, came out last year). This alternate start demo under the new name of Fallout: The New West will be followed up with the entirety of Act 1 of the game as a vertical slice, the modders said.
Cain, who worked on the first two, much-loved Fallout games in the mid-to late 90s before leaving Interplay to start a new studio called Troika Games, revealed that in the middle of 2003, an unnamed Interplay vice president asked him to play the Van Buren prototype, saying: “I don’t think they can get it done, so I’m just going to cancel it. But if you look over it and give me an estimate there’s a chance I wouldn’t cancel it.”
Cain said he played the prototype for two hours and asked the development team a number of questions before delivering his verdict to the vice president. “I said, ‘I’m convinced in 18 months you could have a really good game shipped.’ And he said, ‘huh, could it be done any faster?’ And I was like, ‘oh, shoot, I’ve said too long.’ I said, ‘well, even if you did a death march crunch I don’t think you could do it faster than 12, and then you’d be shipping something that was unbalanced and buggy, and the team would be destroyed. So I don’t recommend that.’
“And he said, ‘OK, thanks.’ As we walked out he basically explained any answer over six months was going to result in him having to cancel it, meaning the answer I just gave got the game canceled. But he was going to cancel it anyway. He thought it couldn’t be done in six months, and I just confirmed that to him.”
According to Cain, the cancellation of Van Buren was, ultimately, about money; Interplay’s dire financial situation meant it simply did not have enough cash to fund more than six months of further development. Interplay went on to close Black Isle Studios and cut its entire staff. The company released the console spinoff Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel in 2004 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2, but it was not enough. That same year, Interplay announced a licensing deal with The Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda for future Fallout games, and in 2007, Interplay sold the Fallout IP to Bethesda outright. The rest is history.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
