DriversRecommendedOutdated drivers can make a good PC feel brokenScan driver issues before chasing fixes manually.Scan NowOctober DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsWindows FixRecommendedWindows errors stealing your time? Find the fix fastScan stability, cleanup and performance issues.Fix Now×
Skip to content
VGSources
Blog

Is the Fallout 4 Map Bigger Than Fallout: New Vegas?

Fallout 4 probably has the larger map by some commonly cited estimates, but no comparable measurement conclusively proves it. Its 3.82-square-mile figure counts outdoor wasteland only.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

Free tools Windows power users keep installed

One-click scans. No signup required.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Probably, according to some commonly cited estimates—but there is no definitive apples-to-apples measurement proving Fallout 4’s playable map is larger than Fallout: New Vegas. The often-quoted 3.82-square-mile figure for Fallout 4 covers its outdoor wasteland only. The New Vegas figures available for comparison use different or unclear boundaries and methods.

What the available map measurements show

Twinfinite reports a 3.82-square-mile outdoor area for Fallout 4, attributing the estimate to a Reddit user who used in-game getpos coordinates, mapped points in GIS, and measured polygons. It excludes indoor and underground areas as well as DLC, so it is a fan-derived estimate reported by a secondary publisher—not an official Bethesda specification. Twinfinite’s Fallout 4 map estimate.

There is no matching New Vegas measurement in the sources available here. A New Vegas map reference notes that the explorable region has an irregular shape and uses an imaginary square boundary to represent the whole area. A square-boundary figure may therefore include space that is unplayable or defined differently from the area counted in Fallout 4. New Vegas map reference.

Why the “16 square miles” New Vegas claim is not a fair comparison

A 2011 forum post says the New Vegas map is 16 square miles, but the cited passage gives no comparable boundary definition or measurement method. It cannot establish that New Vegas is larger than Fallout 4’s 3.82-square-mile outdoor estimate. Treat the number as an unverified forum assertion, not a settled measurement. The forum claim and other estimates.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Fallout 4 Game of The Year Edition - PlayStation 4
  • 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

A separate pre-release reconstruction estimated roughly 30 square miles for Fallout 4 by assuming a 1:3 scale and using landmarks from trailers. Its author described it as a rough speculation; it is not a measurement of the shipped game and should not be used to settle the comparison. The estimates and their limitations.

What “bigger map” can mean

The answer depends on which area you mean. These are different comparisons, and figures from one should not be treated as measurements of another:

Rank #2
Sale
Fallout 4 | Anniversary Edition | Nintendo Switch 2 [Code in Box]
  • ANNIVERSARY EDITION — Celebrate ten years of Fallout 4 with the complete post‑nuclear RPG experience, winner of over 200 Best Of awards including DICE and BAFTA Game of the Year.
  • COMPLETE BASE GAME INCLUDED — Experience the full Fallout 4 main campaign as the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, shaping the fate of the Commonwealth through meaningful choices, factions, and exploration.
  • ALL 6 OFFICIAL EXPANSIONS — Includes Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, Far Harbor, Contraptions Workshop, Vault‑Tec Workshop, and Nuka‑World for massive story, settlement, and gameplay additions.
  • 150+ CREATION CLUB ITEMS — Expand your adventure with curated Creation Club content featuring unique weapons, power armor sets, building packs, paint jobs, player homes, and Dogmeat cosmetic variants.
  • OPEN‑WORLD FREEDOM — Explore hundreds of locations, craft weapons and armor, build and manage settlements, and customize your playstyle using the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and perk progression.
  • Outdoor playable footprint: the traversable outdoor area inside the game’s boundary. The Fallout 4 estimate covers this category.
  • Total explorable space: outdoor terrain plus interiors, underground areas, and separate worldspaces. The cited Fallout 4 figure excludes interiors and underground areas; it also excludes DLC.
  • Real-world territory represented: an approximation of the setting’s geographic scale, which depends on how game distances are converted into real distances.

For a valid area comparison, both games would need the same boundary rule, treatment of water and inaccessible terrain, inclusion or exclusion of interiors and DLC, and measurement method. The available figures do not meet that standard.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Map size is not the same as how large a world feels

A measured area and the experience of travelling through a game answer different questions. A world can feel more or less expansive because of its layout and the way its explorable spaces are arranged; that impression does not establish which game has the larger measured footprint. The figures cited here support only a qualified comparison of area, not a verdict about which world feels bigger.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 4
Fallout 4 - PlayStation 4 [ (Renewed)
Fallout 4 - PlayStation 4 [ (Renewed)
Next generation of open-world gaming; Developed by Bethesda Game Studios under the direction of Todd Howard
$17.77
SaleBestseller No. 5
Fallout 4 - Xbox One (Renewed)
Fallout 4 - Xbox One (Renewed)
Next generation of open-world gaming; Developed by Bethesda Game Studios under the direction of Todd Howard
$11.12
Best Value
Sale
Fallout 4 - Xbox One (Renewed)
  • Next generation of open-world gaming
  • Developed by Bethesda Game Studios under the direction of Todd Howard
  • Fallout 4 is the follow up to the 2008 'Game of the Year' Fallout 3
  • First title from the world-renowned studio since the release of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Violence
Rank #4
Sale
Fallout 4 - PlayStation 4 [ (Renewed)
  • Next generation of open-world gaming
  • Developed by Bethesda Game Studios under the direction of Todd Howard
  • Fallout 4 is the follow up to the 2008 'Game of the Year' Fallout 3
  • First title from the world-renowned studio since the release of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Rank #3
Fallout 4 Game of The Year Edition - PlayStation 4
  • 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

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More quests from Patch Notes

  1. How To Create Custom Stickers & Shoutouts In Monster Hunter WildsMonster Hunter WildsBlog20min
  2. How to Get XL Gogoat in Pokemon Legends Z-A (An Extra-Large Gogoat)Pokemon Legends Z-ABlog20min
  3. How to Get Rotting Lightbringer in Diablo 4Diablo 4Blog17min
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.