Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, though they might appear similar, are actually, in the extremely dense fictional Fallout timeline, very far apart. It’s 2102 when the residents of Vault 76 canonically defeat the scorchbeast queen, a full 185 years before Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor goes hunting for their son across the Commonwealth. It’s hard to imagine what might have changed, in the two centuries between both games, but that’s exactly the goal of DeeZire, creator of the Fallout sequel mod, Fallout: Appalachia, which just got a full hour of new gameplay footage.
According to DeeZire, the Appalachia map is now over a quarter complete, using assets and textures from Fallout 4 to give it a more “modern” look, at least within the game’s timeline. Buildings are dirtier, there’s more wreckage in the streets, but radiation clouds and dust storms seem to have cleared, and the whole world is looking at least marginally more inhabitable than it does in 76. The new footage is a whistle-stop tour of Appalachia’s north and western regions, including Vault 51, Tyler County Fairgrounds, Clancy Manor, and the previously eponymous Vault 76.
Though at the moment we only have the game’s geography, DeeZire plans for other modders to eventually add a narrative — responding to a YouTube comment about the possibility of missions and quests, DeeZire says “that’s the longer term aim. There is a backstory you can get involved in, or ignore, which involves you going to Appalachia to trace the origin of the Rust Devils, and putting an end to their spreading across the wasteland. But for now everything starts with the world.”
Development on Fallout: Appalachia began back in 2019, but according to the game’s Discord channel, the world is now reaching a size where it will soon be released as a public demo. DeeZire also jokingly hints at a full launch date, saying “one thing’s for sure, it will be done and out before Fallout 5”.
And there is another Fallout fan sequel, Fallout: London, that’s also on its way, with a release date now set for 2023.