Bethesda feels no need to rush out a new Fallout, despite franchise's current popularity boost
"I don't think it's bad for people to miss things."
Fallout has seen a renewed spike in popularity following the release of Amazon's TV adaptation. However, despite this, Bethesda doesn't feel under pressure to rush a new game out to placate fans.
Speaking with YouTuber MrMattyPlays, Todd Howard acknowledged that the Fallout series is probably at its most popular, with the franchise boasting some record player numbers over recent months. Howard went on to state the studio gives "a lot of thought to franchise management" when questioned specifically about the future of Fallout as a whole.
"I spend a lot of time thinking about franchises I love... so, for us, it is sort of game planning out - number one, making sure Fallout is relevant in the world, and well, I think, clearly it is," the studio exec said.
"People are hungry for even more. We've never stopped doing Fallout work. A lot of that work goes on, obviously, in Fallout 76." At this point, he mentioned its new Skyline Valley update, saying the team is "really excited with where that game is at".
But, what about other Fallout games in the future? "Obviously, I can't talk about those right now," Howard said. "But, I would say rushing through them or 'we need to get stuff out that is different than the work we're doing in 76', you know, we don't feel like we need to rush any of that."
Howard believes Amazon's Fallout TV show fills a gap for the series' fanbase "in terms of the franchise and storytelling". He said he still understands the community's "desire for a new mainline single-player game", but noted "those things take time".
Said Howard: "I don't think it's bad for people to miss things, as well... we just want to get it right and make sure that everything we're doing in a franchise - whether it's Elder Scrolls or Fallout or now Starfield - that those become meaningful moments for everybody who loves these franchises as much as we do."
The developer said his preference is often to hold things back for as long as possible, saying his "perfect scenario for games" is to "announce them and get them out as quickly as possible" - a point he has made before.
This is in contrast to the studio's Elder Scrolls 6 reveal in 2018. However, according to Skyrim's lead designer Bruce Nesmith, Elder Scrolls 6 was only announced when it was because "the pitchforks and torches were out". Meanwhile, last year, Howard admitted he wishes he had announced The Elder Scrolls 6 differently.
"I probably would've announced it more casually" today, Howard said in August, admitting he had "asked [himself] a lot" if he regrets revealing the game when he did.
That being said, The Elder Scrolls 6 still looks to be Bethesda's next big RPG release. Fallout 5 is also confirmed, but won't arrive until afterwards.
Elsewhere in his conversation with MrMattyPlays, Howard confirmed that Starfield will be getting at least one more expansion after Shattered Space releases later this year.