Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters verdict from top studio boss

Studio head, executive producer and game director at Bethesda Todd Howard has shared insight on if updated versions of Fallout 3 and New Vegas would be remasters or remakes.

Fallout 3 was the first game in the series that was developed by Bethesda and it was the first 3D one too, releasing in 2008 and going on to scoop a number of Game of the Year gongs. Fallout New Vegas was developed by Obsidian and published by Bethesda, releasing in 2010 to critical acclaim.

Neither remaster has been officially confirmed but they have been heavily rumoured for a number of years, especially since a remaster of Fallout 3 was mentioned in leaked court documents from Xbox's acquisition of Bethesda, which was finalised in 2021. Those documents also mentioned The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered which shadow dropped in April 2025.

And speaking on a recent episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast, Howard hinted at whether or not potential Fallout 3 and New Vegas updated releases would be remasters or remakes.

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He said: "I've softened on the whole remaster thing.

"I'm sort of anti-remake. I respect the other ones out there but I really think the age of a game is part of what it is, its personality and what it represented when it came out.

"When we approached Oblivion, we wanted it to be a remaster but the absolute best version of that you could imagine.

"It was important to us that the original game was running, so imagine you had patched that game many, many, many times for many years, what would you have done?

"We took that approach and then graphically, let's just make it look modern but still in the style it was. We're not going to redesign the armour to be something new in The Elder Scrolls, it's that version of it the way you kind of remember but up-res."

Howard also said there are "multiple" Fallout projects in the works at Bethesda but did not go into any further detail. He added shadow drops are his "preferred method".

Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters have not yet been officially confirmed but are understood to be in the works at Bethesda.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters: Everything we know so far
• Fallout 3 and New Vegas remaster blow as online countdown concludes

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