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There are nine officially released standalone video games carrying the Fallout name in release order, beginning with Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game in 1997 and ending, in this list, with Fallout 76 in 2018. This is release order—not the order of the games’ fictional history.
| # | Game | Release date used here | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game | September 30, 1997 | Original isometric RPG |
| 2 | Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game | December 1, 1998 | Direct sequel |
| 3 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | March 1, 2001 | Tactical spin-off |
| 4 | Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel | January 13–14, 2004 | Console action-RPG spin-off |
| 5 | Fallout 3 | October 28, 2008 in North America | Open-world RPG |
| 6 | Fallout: New Vegas | October 19, 2010 | Standalone narrative RPG |
| 7 | Fallout Shelter | June 14, 2015 on iOS | Vault-management simulation |
| 8 | Fallout 4 | November 10, 2015 in North America | Open-world RPG |
| 9 | Fallout 76 | November 14, 2018 | Online multiplayer RPG |
Fallout games in release order
1. Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game (1997)
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game released on September 30, 1997, and established the core ideas that still define the franchise: an isometric viewpoint, turn-based combat, branching decisions, a retro-futurist interpretation of post-nuclear America, and the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system.
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The original game takes place largely in post-apocalyptic California. Its role-playing systems emphasize character skills, conversation, exploration, and consequences rather than treating combat as the only meaningful way to solve a problem.
Some historical sources give October 10, 1997 instead. That difference reflects territory and retail-release conventions, so September 30 is the date used for this release-order list rather than an assertion that every market received the game on the same day.
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2. Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game (1998)
Fallout 2 released on December 1, 1998. Developed by Black Isle Studios, it is a direct sequel to the original game and retains its isometric, turn-based role-playing structure.
The sequel moves the setting decades forward and expands the world, factions, quests, dialogue, and possible outcomes. It is the second release in the series, even though later games—including the prequel Fallout 76—take place earlier in the fictional timeline.
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3. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel released on March 1, 2001. Micro Forté developed this spin-off for Interplay, shifting the emphasis from open-ended role-playing and individual character development toward squad-based tactical combat.
You control a Brotherhood of Steel squad rather than a single conventional wasteland wanderer. The structure is more linear than Fallout or Fallout 2, making it best understood as a tactical game set in the Fallout universe rather than as a conventional third numbered entry.
Bethesda’s franchise overview includes Fallout Tactics, but its continuity is usually treated as limited or semi-canonical. It should not be described without qualification as fully equivalent in canon status to the mainline games.
4. Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel arrived on PlayStation 2 and Xbox during Interplay’s era, with a North American release commonly given as January 13, 2004. Some databases display January 14 because of differing date conventions.
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This is a separate game from Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. The shared subtitle refers to the Brotherhood of Steel setting and faction, not to a shared title sequence or a direct continuation. The 2004 game is a console-focused action-RPG spin-off, with a more combat-driven structure than the original PC role-playing games.
5. Fallout 3 (2008)
Fallout 3 released in North America on October 28, 2008. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, it was the first major Fallout game made by Bethesda and transformed the series into a first-person, open-world action RPG.
The game moves the setting from the earlier western locations to the Capital Wasteland around Washington, D.C. Exploration, real-time combat, character progression, moral choices, and a large interconnected map became the new foundation for the modern series.
October 28 is the North American date. Other territories received the game later, so it should not be interpreted as a simultaneous worldwide launch.
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Fallout: New Vegas released on October 19, 2010. Obsidian Entertainment developed it using the technological foundation of Fallout 3, while Bethesda Softworks published it.
Although its name and development history make it a standalone spin-off rather than a numbered sequel, New Vegas is generally regarded as one of Fallout’s major narrative role-playing games. Its Mojave setting puts greater emphasis on factions, reputation, dialogue, political choices, and branching quest outcomes.
It is therefore useful to distinguish between release classification and importance to the series: New Vegas is a standalone spin-off in the release history, but it is not a minor side project in the way a small promotional game would be.
7. Fallout Shelter (2015)
Bethesda announced and released Fallout Shelter for iOS on June 14, 2015, during its E3 presentation. Later Android and PC versions followed, so this date refers specifically to the original iOS debut.
Rather than being an open-world RPG, Fallout Shelter is a free-to-play vault-management and survival simulation. Players build rooms, assign dwellers to jobs, manage resources, expand the Vault, and respond to threats.
Its inclusion is appropriate in a list of officially released standalone Fallout games, but its format is very different from the numbered RPGs. It also does not function as one straightforward, single-date story in the way the mainline games do.
8. Fallout 4 (2015)
Fallout 4 released in North America on November 10, 2015. Steam lists November 9, reflecting its digital-release and storefront listing convention; the North American console release date is the clearest date to use in a general release-history article.
Bethesda Game Studios again developed the game, which is set in the Commonwealth around Boston. It continues the first-person open-world RPG format introduced by Fallout 3 while adding expanded settlement construction, weapon and armor modification, and a voiced protagonist.
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Players looking for a single-player entry with the broadest bundled content may encounter Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition. It is an edition of Fallout 4, not a tenth Fallout game: Bethesda describes it as including the base game, six official expansions, and Creation Club content. Platform details matter, and the Nintendo Switch 2 release is a later port rather than a new franchise entry.
9. Fallout 76 (2018)
Fallout 76 released on November 14, 2018, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Bethesda Game Studios developed and Bethesda Softworks published it.
Bethesda describes Fallout 76 as an online multiplayer prequel. It is set in Appalachia and takes place before the other major games in the fictional chronology, but it is the latest released standalone Fallout game in this release-order list.
Ongoing updates, expansions, editions, and later platform releases do not create additional entries. They are support for, or versions of, Fallout 76 rather than separate Fallout games.
Release order versus story chronology
If you want to experience how the franchise evolved, play in the order above. If you want to follow the broad fictional timeline, the sequence changes substantially because Fallout 76 is a prequel.
| Broad story order | Game |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fallout 76 — set in 2102 |
| 2 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel — continuity qualified |
| 3 | Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel — spin-off continuity qualified |
| 4 | Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game |
| 5 | Fallout 2 |
| 6 | Fallout 3 |
| 7 | Fallout: New Vegas |
| 8 | Fallout 4 |
This chronology is necessarily approximate for the spin-offs. Fallout Shelter is not included as a simple point on the table because its vault-management format does not present one conventional, linear game timeline. The important distinction is that story chronology starts with Fallout 76, while release history starts with the 1997 original.
What is not a separate Fallout game?
- Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition: A later edition or bundle of Fallout 4, including the base game and additional content—not a new entry.
- Fallout 4 on Nintendo Switch 2: A later platform release, including a physical code-in-box version, not a separate game in the franchise history.
- Downloadable content: Expansions such as The Pitt, Far Harbor, Nuka-World, Old World Blues, and Wastelanders are add-ons or updates.
- Fallout Shelter Online: A regionally released licensed mobile title associated with the brand. It is not part of the standard worldwide Bethesda-developed sequence and is best treated separately.
- Cancelled projects: Projects such as Van Buren and the proposed Fallout MMO were never released as finished standalone games, so they do not belong in a release-date list.
- Future projects and reported remasters: Without a verified release, they cannot be listed among released Fallout games.
Which Fallout game should you play first?
For the clearest history of the franchise, start with Fallout and Fallout 2, then treat Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel as optional historical spin-offs. Continue with Fallout 3, New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.
For modern controls and presentation, beginning with Fallout 3, New Vegas, or Fallout 4 is more approachable. That is a gameplay recommendation, not a change to the franchise’s release order. Choose Fallout 76 first if online multiplayer and a prequel setting are your priority; choose Fallout 4 for the most conventional modern single-player starting point.
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The Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology is a physical collector product containing seven Fallout games and official add-ons supplied as PC download codes. It represents much of the series’ history, but it does not contain every game in the nine-entry list, and the codes should not be mistaken for physical discs. Availability and edition details can vary by retailer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct order to play the Fallout games by release date?
The release order is Fallout (1997), Fallout 2 (1998), Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001), Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004), Fallout 3 (2008), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Fallout Shelter (2015), Fallout 4 (2015), and Fallout 76 (2018).
Is Fallout 76 the first Fallout game chronologically?
Fallout 76 is first in the broad fictional chronology because it is set in 2102, before the other major games. It was released in 2018, after Fallout 4, so it remains last in release order.
Are Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel the same game?
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel are separate games. Tactics is a squad-based tactical spin-off released in 2001, while Brotherhood of Steel is a console action-RPG released in 2004.
Why is Fallout Shelter included in the release-order list?
Fallout Shelter is included because it is an officially released standalone Fallout game, but it is a vault-management simulation rather than a traditional open-world RPG. Its original release was on iOS in 2015.
The Bottom Line
The correct release order is Fallout (1997), Fallout 2 (1998), Fallout Tactics (2001), Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004), Fallout 3 (2008), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Fallout Shelter (2015), Fallout 4 (2015), and Fallout 76 (2018). Fallout 76 comes first only when ordering the games by fictional chronology.
