The original Fallout source code has apparently already been found by the series’ initial developer Interplay, with the internet assuming for years that it remained lost. This is according to Fallout co-creator Tim Cain, who says Interplay previously found the RPG game’s code in the comments to one of his YouTube videos on game development. This doesn’t confirm we’ll be getting remasters or ports from Bethesda, but it’s the next best thing as we come ever closer to the Fallout 5 release date.
For years we all thought the Fallout source code for the first game and Fallout 2 had been lost, but it now looks like Cain has confirmed that at some point it was found, although this doesn’t outright confirm that remasters or ports are on the way from Bethesda.
“Interplay lost the source code archive in the early 2000s,” Cain says, “but they managed to recover the code from an old computer found in storage. Bethesda should have it now.”
As original series developer Interplay sold the entire Fallout franchise IP to Bethesda in 2007, after previously selling them the rights to make just a handful of individual Fallout games, the maker of both Elder Scrolls and Starfield owns the entire series, with Cain adding “you’d need to ask Bethesda about that” when asked about the possibility of any Fallout 1 and 2 ports or remasters.
Cain’s comments do not confirm that the original Fallout games will be coming to more platforms or that remasters are indeed on the way from Bethesda, but he does appear to have put to bed the long-standing story that Interplay never managed to find the original source code after losing it.
If you can’t wait for more retro-futuristic isometric RPG action, New Blood is making a Fallout-inspired game that looks to emulate the classic PC games of the ‘90s. In fact, Fallout 1 and 2 have seen their source code reverse-engineered already, for non-commercial use, so it’s safe to say that the love of old-school Fallout isn’t dead just yet.
Source code isn’t the be-all and end-all of ports and remasters for the original Fallout games, but it would make Bethesda’s job a lot easier if the studio ever decided to bring those old games back from the dead. You can find the classic isometric RPGs on Steam and PC Game Pass, but they aren’t available on console and there are no official modernised versions of Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics to speak of.
Also, the terms of Bethesda’s suit against Interplay from the early 2000s – due to the latter not commencing full development on Fallout Online within a specific time frame after selling the IP to Bethesda – dictates that if the source code of the original games were to be found, it would be given to Bethesda, as Cain also ascertains in the YouTube comments. So if what Cain says is true, which we have no reason to doubt at present, that source code should be in Bethesda’s possession.
We’ve been keeping an eye on Fallout co-creator Tim Cain’s new YouTube channel recently. He’s been uploading loads of really interesting information about the series, like the true purpose of the Fallout vaults, and he’s even praised Bethesda for “revitalising” the series too.
If you’ve now got a hankering to dive into the retro-futurist post-apocalypse series, our Fallout New Vegas mods should keep you busy; alternatively, you can play some of the best games like Fallout instead, with a lot to choose from.
