Circle August 18 on the calendar. Fallout: Invaders From Beyond goes live that day, making it the only Fallout release currently carrying a firm date.
The rest of the franchise? A shrug and a maybe.
The one date you can actually circle
Invaders From Beyond drops on Tuesday, August 18, folded into Fallout 76’s ongoing Season 25, Appalachia Under Siege. Every other Fallout project currently on the board carries a timeline best described as murky.
Fallout 5 has been confirmed. A Fallout 3 prequel is on the way as a Fallout 76 update. Remakes of both Fallout 3 and New Vegas also appear to be in Bethesda’s plans. Not one of those has a release window you could plan a weekend around.
Why fans stopped taking Bethesda at its word
Being a Fallout fan lately has been a tense affair. The restructuring at Xbox and the layoffs at Bethesda have done little for anyone’s confidence, and the recent confirmations haven’t entirely papered over that.
Bethesda maintains that the layoffs won’t affect development across its slate of projects and won’t delay titles like The Elder Scrolls 6 any further. Players aren’t willing to take that on faith alone.
Credit where it’s due: the studio did answer. The official statement on Fallout 5 emerged from exactly that pressure, followed by a string of franchise updates.
August is stacked before the aliens even show up
There’s a proper runway into launch. Kicking off August 6 with The Zetans Are Back! leg of Appalachia Under Siege, Fallout 76 runs a “Double Score and Murmrgh’s Special Pick” event that lasts through Monday, August 10.
A “Gold Rush and Double Mutation” weekend event follows from August 13 to August 17. Invaders From Beyond starts the very next day.
What you’ll be shooting at
Once live, you’ll be able to answer a Zetan invasion once every hour at one of several rotating locations. The format: clear waves of alien forces, wreck the Brainwave Siphons, then square off against the event’s final boss, General Zeta.
Alien-themed rewards are bolted onto the public event: weapon plans, CAMP items, cosmetics and assorted rare loot. The grind pays out whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime Vault Dweller.
Fallout 76 quietly became the franchise’s main stage
Nobody’s pretending it’s the most beloved entry in the series. It is, however, the most content-packed Fallout available to play right now.
Season 25 is underway, with the 26th arriving in September. That’s a long way from the disastrous 2018 launch.
Across the years, it has become Bethesda’s primary delivery system for new Fallout content: fresh storylines, new characters and bosses, expanded stretches of the Wasteland. New Fallout tends to land here first.
There’s a reason to reinstall now
The Fallout 3 prequel now has a name: Raven Rock. The promise is new light on the Enclave’s history, set years before the events of Fallout 3.
All of which makes the coming few weeks worth using. Gear up, chew through what Fallout 76 already offers, and be ready when General Zeta lands on August 18.