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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Fallout: New Vegas is the strongest Fallout game overall, thanks to its flexible role-playing, consequential choices and sharply defined factions. The original Fallout is the series’ most influential classic, while Fallout 76 is the hardest to compare because it is built as an online multiplayer RPG rather than a traditional single-player adventure.
This ranking covers the six games Bethesda identifies as mainline Fallout RPGs. The franchise also includes four named spin-offs in Bethesda’s timeline, spanning squad tactics, action, Vault management and pinball; those are assessed separately so a pinball table is not treated as though it were competing on the same terms as a role-playing game.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Fallout 4 Game of The Year Edition - PlayStation 4 | $30.81 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Fallout 3 - PlayStation 3 Game of the Year Edition | $20.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Fallout Collection (PC) | $44.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Fallout Collection - PC | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Fallout Collection (PC) | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
How this Fallout ranking works
The mainline ranking weighs role-playing depth and the consequences of player choices, story and characters, exploration and setting, combat, and how well each game executes its own design. That favors games that give players meaningful ways to shape a journey, but it also recognizes the strengths of entries whose appeal lies in atmosphere, exploration or multiplayer play.
Bethesda’s official timeline identifies Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 as the mainline games. This is a critical ranking, not an official Bethesda order.
#1 Best Overall
- Freedom and Liberty Do whatever you want in a massive open world with hundreds of locations, characters, and quests. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone, the choices are all yours
- Be whoever you want with the special character system. From a power Armored soldier to the charismatic smooth talker, you can choose from hundreds of perks and develop your own playstyle
- New next generation graphics and lighting engine brings to life the world of fallout. From the blasted forests of the common wealth to the ruins of Boston, every location is packed with dynamic detail
- Intense first or third person combat can also be slowed down with the new dynamic Vault Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S) that lets you choose your attacks and enjoy cinematic carnage
The six mainline Fallout games, ranked
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6. Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is an online open-world multiplayer role-playing game set in Appalachia. Bethesda describes it as the franchise’s first online game designed to be played with friends. That makes it a distinct option for players who want to explore the wasteland alongside others, but a less direct fit for someone seeking the focused, single-player role-playing experience that defines much of the series.
Its position here reflects that difference in emphasis, not a claim that multiplayer Fallout cannot work. It occupies a separate lane: the series’ mainline entry built around an online world rather than a self-contained protagonist’s story. Bethesda’s description of Fallout 76 identifies both its online multiplayer format and Appalachian setting.
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5. Fallout 4
Fallout 4 sends the Sole Survivor into the Commonwealth in search of family. It stands out among the mainline games for settlement building, giving players a way to shape places in the world as well as explore them. That feature adds a strong creative and practical dimension, though it also shifts some attention away from the more choice-driven role-playing that puts the games above it higher on this list.
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4. Fallout
The 1997 original is a compact, foundational role-playing game set in Southern California in 2161. The Vault Dweller’s search for a working water chip gives the adventure a clear central purpose, while its place at the start of the series makes it essential for understanding the setting and the franchise’s roots.
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Fallout 3 - PlayStation 3 Game of the Year Edition- Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition PS3
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It ranks below the top three because later entries offer more developed ways to inhabit and explore the wasteland. Its importance is not in doubt; its older design and more limited scope simply make it a less immediately accessible recommendation for many newcomers.
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3. Fallout 3
Fallout 3 moves the series into a first-person open world in the ruins of Washington, D.C. Set in 2277, it follows the Lone Wanderer leaving Vault 101 to find their father. Bethesda identifies it as the first mainline game released on consoles and notes that it introduced V.A.T.S. in its reimagined form.
Its strongest case is the feeling of stepping out of the Vault into a broad, hostile world and discovering what lies beyond the next landmark. The main story gives that exploration a personal thread, though the game’s role-playing and narrative choices are not as consistently compelling as those in the two entries above it. The platform-specific review records on Metacritic’s Fallout 3 page should not be read as a universal score across platforms or as a direct, complete comparison with every game in the franchise.
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2. Fallout 2
Fallout 2 takes place in 2241 and casts the player as the Chosen One, sent to find a G.E.C.K. for Arroyo. It builds on the original’s role-playing foundations with a larger adventure and a broader sense of what a player can encounter and decide.
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Its place near the top rests on the depth and freedom of its classic role-playing design. The trade-off is that it retains an older, less approachable format than the later first-person entries. For players comfortable with that style, it is one of the series’ richest adventures.
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1. Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is the best all-around Fallout because its Mojave setting is organized around competing interests, and the Courier’s choices can meaningfully affect the struggle. Released in 2010 and set in 2281, it combines a strong sense of place with role-playing decisions that give factions and alliances weight.
It does not have to be the newest or broadest game to come out on top: its advantage is how closely its world, characters and choices support one another. That makes it the most satisfying pick for players who want the series’ central promise—deciding who to trust and what kind of wasteland should emerge—to drive the adventure. Metacritic’s platform-specific Fallout: New Vegas review page is useful as one reference, not as a single definitive verdict across editions or platforms.
Where the Fallout spin-offs fit
Bethesda’s 2022 timeline names four additional games beyond the six mainline entries. They use different formats, so placing them in a single worst-to-best order would obscure what each is trying to do.
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| Game | Release year | Format and place in the franchise |
|---|---|---|
| Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | 2001 | Squad-based combat blending real-time and turn-based play, set in the American Midwest. |
| Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel | 2004 | An action-oriented console game; it is a separate title from Fallout Tactics. |
| Fallout Shelter | 2015 | A Vault-management game that began on mobile. |
| Fallout Pinball | 2016 | A Fallout-themed virtual pinball table made with Zen Studios. |
Those entries are part of the franchise’s history, but they are not interchangeable with the mainline RPGs. Fallout Tactics emphasizes squad combat; Brotherhood of Steel takes an action approach; Fallout Shelter centers on managing a Vault; and Fallout Pinball translates the setting into a pinball table. Bethesda’s 2022 Fallout timeline distinguishes these titles and describes their formats.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What order should you play the Fallout games in?
For most newcomers, release order is the clearest route through the mainline games: Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. It follows the franchise’s evolution without requiring you to jump between very different eras of design.
Chronological order is different. Of the six mainline titles, Fallout 76 takes place first, 25 years after the Great War of 2077; the remaining settings follow in this order:
- Fallout 76 — 25 years after the 2077 Great War, in Appalachia.
- Fallout — 2161, in Southern California.
- Fallout 2 — 2241.
- Fallout 3 — 2277.
- Fallout: New Vegas — 2281.
- Fallout 4 — 2287, around Boston and the Commonwealth.
Choose chronological order if you specifically want the fictional timeline; choose release order if you want to experience how the games and their formats changed over time. The years above are the settings identified by Bethesda’s official timeline, not their release years.
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Are Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel part of the series?
Yes. Bethesda’s timeline includes both, but it lists them among the additional Fallout games rather than among the six mainline titles. The similar names can cause confusion: Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is a squad-combat game, while Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel is a separate action-oriented console game.
The same distinction matters when considering what counts as “all Fallout games.” Bethesda’s 2022 timeline names ten games in total: the six mainline entries and four additional releases, including Fallout Shelter and Fallout Pinball. Its current franchise homepage features only a subset of the catalog, so that page should not be mistaken for a complete historical list.
Does the Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology include every game?
No. Bethesda’s February 19, 2024 announcement describes a physical collectible bundle containing seven collectible cards and PC codes for seven games: Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3 GOTY, Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition, Fallout 4 GOTY and Fallout 76. It does not include every title named in the franchise timeline, such as Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout Shelter or Fallout Pinball. The announcement establishes the bundle’s contents, not its current availability or price. Bethesda’s anthology announcement provides the listed contents.
Quick Recap
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