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The Fallout TV series is set mainly in 2296, after the latest game setting on Bethesda’s official timeline: Fallout 4 in 2287. The show is an original story in the games’ shared world, not a direct retelling of one game. Its creators say they aimed to leave room for the games’ multiple possible endings rather than declare one player’s outcome definitive.
When does the Fallout show take place?
The series’ main story takes place in 2296, according to an interview with showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet reported by The Direct. That is nine years after Fallout 4, whose setting Bethesda dates to 2287 on its official franchise timeline.
![Fallout Season 1 [2025] [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41WqEBog2XL._SL160_.jpg)
The years below refer to the settings of individual games, not a single continuous story following one protagonist. Bethesda’s timeline supplies the game dates; the 2296 date for the series comes from the creator interview report.
| In-universe year | Entry or event | How it fits |
|---|---|---|
| 2077 | The Great War | The nuclear war after which the post-apocalyptic settings unfold. |
| 2102 | Fallout 76 | The earliest game setting listed on Bethesda’s timeline. |
| 2161 | Fallout | The original game’s setting. |
| 2241 | Fallout 2 | The second game’s setting. |
| 2277 | Fallout 3 | The game’s setting, and the year shown beside “The Fall of Shady Sands” on a series blackboard. |
| 2281 | Fallout: New Vegas | The game is set before Fallout 4 and the TV series. |
| 2287 | Fallout 4 | The latest game setting listed on Bethesda’s timeline. |
| 2296 | Fallout TV series | The main setting reported in the showrunner interview. |
How did the creators fit the show into the game timeline?
An original story in the same world
Executive producer and co-showrunner Robertson-Dworet said the team did not want to copy one game’s story: “We knew right from the start that we didn’t want to copy exactly one of the stories from the video games,” she told Amazon. “We knew we were going to craft our own story.”
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Jonathan Nolan described the series as an original story within the games’ world. Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard put the distinction this way in an interview with Den of Geek: “It wasn’t the translation of an existing story. It was, what would the next thing be? It just happens to be a TV show.”
Room for multiple game endings
Robertson-Dworet said the show was designed to take place after the games without choosing one possible ending as the definitive version. She explained to The Direct: “There are, of any of the individual games, multiple endings to each game, and to choose one would be to imply that some player’s experience of the games was not actually accurate. So, we tried to allow for all of the possible endings of each game to be true while creating a timeline that our show exists after.”
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![Fallout: Seasons 1 & 2 – Complete Collection (Special Features) [6-Disc Set] [Blu-ray] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51tuj5cNrCL._SL160_.jpg)
- COMPLETE SEASONS 1 & 2 COLLECTION – Includes the full post-apocalyptic saga
- 6-DISC BLU-RAY SET – Premium High Definition presentation
- BASED ON THE ICONIC VIDEO GAME FRANCHISE – Faithful sci-fi adaptation
- SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDED – Bonus content and behind-the-scenes extras
- REGION FREE BLU-RAY – Compatible worldwide
That describes the creators’ approach to the timeline; it does not provide a definitive reconciliation of every game ending with every event in the show.
Is Fallout: New Vegas still canon?
Yes. The show’s later setting does not, by itself, remove Fallout: New Vegas from continuity. Bethesda dates the game to 2281, before the series’ reported 2296 setting. And when asked directly whether New Vegas remained canon, Bethesda design director Emil Pagliarulo replied, “Of course it is. We’ve never suggested otherwise,” as reported by Windows Central.
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Rank #3
![Fallout: Complete Season One (1-8 Episodes / 3-Disc Set) [Blu-ray] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51FvJVBwn6L._SL160_.jpg)
- Live-action adaptation of the hit Fallout video game series
- Gripping post-apocalyptic drama with action, satire, and mystery
- Includes all episodes of Season One on high-quality Blu-ray
- Region Free – plays on Blu-ray players worldwide
- Perfect for fans of sci-fi, dystopian stories, and video game adaptations
Did Shady Sands get nuked in 2277?
The series’ blackboard shows “The Fall of Shady Sands” beside 2277 and places an explosion marker later in the sequence. Those are separate marks; the 2277 label should not automatically be treated as the exact date Shady Sands was destroyed. Windows Central notes that conflating them led some viewers to conclude that New Vegas could not have happened. The blackboard distinguishes the fall label from the later explosion, but the cited reporting does not establish a definitive date or full explanation for the city’s destruction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare the show with a specific game
Chronology is only one part of the comparison. Keep these distinctions clear when placing a game alongside the series:
Quick Recap
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![Fallout - Season Two [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41RTLM4wKjL._SL160_.jpg)
- Fallout
- Season Two
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- Year: Use Bethesda’s listed year for a game and the reported 2296 date for the show.
- Location: Compare where each story takes place as well as when; a later setting is not necessarily a direct continuation of a game’s local plot.
- Format: Distinguish a game entry from the original television story.
- Evidence: Separate an explicit date, such as a game’s listed setting, from an inference about when a particular event occurred. The Shady Sands blackboard is a clear example.
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