Want to jump into the Fallout series but not sure where to begin? The Fallout games have been taking players through nuclear wastelands since 1997, and with Fallout Season 2 coming soon, there’s no better time to experience this legendary RPG series. Let’s walk through all the Fallout games play order, both chronologically and by their release dates.
Table of Contents
Fallout Games in Chronological Order
The Fallout universe kicks off in the 22nd century after a massive nuclear war wiped out most of the world in 2077. Here’s how the games actually line up based on when their stories happen:
1. Fallout 76 (2018)
- Time Period: 2102-2105 (25 years after the bombs)
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
- Metacritic: 52
Even though Fallout 76 is the newest game, it actually takes place before all the others. You leave Vault 76 in West Virginia just 25 years after the nukes dropped, so the world isn’t completely wrecked yet. But don’t think that means it’s safe, the mutants and other dangers will mess you up real quick.
The game is online-only, which means you’ll run into other real players. When it first came out, there weren’t any friendly NPCs at all, just other players and enemies. The Wastelanders update fixed that problem and added actual people to talk to and help.
2. Fallout 1 (1997)
- Time Period: 2161
- Platforms: PC, MS-DOS, and macOS
- Metacritic: 89
This is where everything started. You play as the Vault Dweller living underground in Vault 13 in Southern California. Your water chip breaks, and without water, everyone’s gonna die. So they send you out into the wasteland to find a new one with basically nothing but your computer.
Once you bring back the water chip, things get way more serious. You discover The Master, this crazy mutant guy who’s trying to turn all humans into super mutants using an old virus. The ending changes based on what you choose to do.
3. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
- Time Period: 2197
- Platforms: PC
- Metacritic: 82
Taking place in the Midwest, this game focuses on the Brotherhood of Steel. It’s basically a military group trying to protect technology so another apocalypse doesn’t happen. You control a squad fighting against threats from the West. This one’s more about tactical combat than the usual RPG stuff.
4. Fallout 2 (1998)
- Time Period: 2241 (80 years after Fallout 1)
- Platforms: PC and macOS
- Metacritic: 86
You play as the Chosen One, who’s actually the grandkid of the Vault Dweller from the first game. Your village is dying from drought, so you need to find something called the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) to save everyone. The thing is, the G.E.C.K. might be located in Vault 13, the same place your ancestor came from. You’ll also deal with the Enclave, which is what’s left of the old US government here.
5. Fallout 3 (2008)
- Time Period: 2277 (200 years after the bombs)
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360
- Metacritic: 91
Bethesda took over and completely changed how Fallout plays. Instead of a top-down view, you now play in first-person like a shooter. You’re born in 2258 and grow up in Vault 101. Everything goes wrong when your dad suddenly leaves the vault one day.
You end up as the Lone Wanderer searching for him through the Capital Wasteland, which is basically destroyed Washington DC. Water becomes important again in the story, but it gets way more complicated than just finding a water chip.
6. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
- Time Period: 2281
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360
- Metacritic: 84
Many fans say this is the best modern Fallout game. You’re just a Courier delivering a package to New Vegas. Some guy in a fancy suit shoots you in the head and leaves you in a shallow grave. But you survive and wake up in a small town. Now you’re tracking down the guy who shot you through the Mojave Desert. Things get complicated fast, and you end up in the middle of a war for control of New Vegas. This is also the setting for the upcoming Season 2 of the Fallout TV show.
7. Fallout 4 (2015)
- Time Period: 2287
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S
- Metacritic: 84
The newest main story game is set in Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts area, known as the Commonwealth. It starts on the day the bombs drop in 2077, but you’re frozen for over 200 years. When you wake up, your spouse is dead, and your baby, Shaun, has been taken.
From there, you travel across the wasteland looking for your child while getting caught up with different groups like the Minutemen, Brotherhood of Steel, the Institute, and the Railroad. A big theme of the game is questioning whether human-like robots should be treated as real people with rights.
Special Note: Non-Canon Games
Two games don’t really count as part of the official story:
- Fallout Shelter (2015) – A fun mobile game about managing your own vault.
- Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004) – A console action game.
Fallout Games by Release Date – Timeline Order
If you want to play the games in the order they came out, here’s the list:
| Game Title | Release Date | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fallout | September 30 | 1997 |
| Fallout 2 | September 30 | 1998 |
| Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | March 14 | 2001 |
| Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel | January 13 | 2004 |
| Fallout 3 | October 28 | 2008 |
| Fallout: New Vegas | October 19 | 2010 |
| Fallout Shelter | June 14 | 2015 |
| Fallout 4 | November 10 | 2015 |
| Fallout 76 | November 14 | 2018 |
Which Fallout Game Should You Play First?
Here’s my honest take on where to start:
- Pick Fallout: New Vegas if you want the best story and don’t mind slightly older graphics. The writing is incredible, and the choices actually matter.
- Then jump into Fallout 4 if you want modern gameplay and smooth shooting mechanics. It’s the most accessible for new players.
- Try Fallout 3 if you want a good balance of story and gameplay from the modern era. It’s where Bethesda’s version of Fallout really took off.
The Fallout game series has something for everyone, from old-school RPGs to modern shooters. Each game gives you a different look at the wasteland and how people survived after everything went to hell. Pick whatever sounds most interesting to you, and get ready for some wild adventures in the nuclear wasteland before Fallout TV series Season 2 drops!
