Bethesda is teasing a new game announcement, but it's anyone guess as to what it may be.
"I think you'll hear us making considerably more noise this year than we did last year, as a publisher," says Pete Hines, VP of Bethesda and head of PR, to OXM. "Obviously the Elder Scrolls Online is out and we've got the Dishonored DLC, but we will be announcing new stuff and making some noise, and I think when we get the chance to show you guys what we're up to, that you'll sit up and take notice."
Given recent timing, we have our sneaking suspicions that a new "Fallout" isn't too far off. "What makes you so sure?" you may ask. Well, it basically comes down to process of elimination.
1. It's too early for a new "Elder Scrolls," and as Hines says, the company is already knee-deep in development for "The Elder Scrolls Online." And with a final DLC allegedly in development as well, a brand new "Elder Scrolls" game won't be rearing its head for some time.
2. "Doom 4" has been having development problems from as early as 2008, though the studio is making sacrifices to try to get everything up to snuff. id closed down their mobile division over the summer to focus on the game exclusively, and more recently, there's been rumors of infighting between staffers as to what direction the next "Doom" should take. "One source described the scene as a 'power struggle,' as managers from both Rage and Doom 4 tried to figure out how to merge their teams. 'You've got these different cultures and they're all kind of jammed together,' says one source," according to Kotaku.
3. Much like id's mobile division, "Rage 2" was cancelled to free up time and teams to work on "Doom 4." See above.
4. Announced two years ago, "Prey 2" has seen better days. Bethesda announced almost a year ago that "Prey 2" would be delayed until a release sometime this year, and that's about all we've heard since then. The game has since been removed from Bethesda' product page, and with the game's site encouraging gamers to sign a petition to show there's still interest, things aren't looking good for Marshal Samuels.
5. With the game's second piece DLC following last year's Dunwall City Trials, Knife of Dunwall, arriving in just two more days, it's still far too early for a new "Dishonored" as well.
6. As far as something brand new goes, Bethesda's kept it tightly under wraps, which, given their track record with "Skyrim" DLC, isn't exactly their forte. The odds are good that something would've turned up by now.
7. It may seem like we're turning to a new "Fallout" out of desperation, but it's the only game of Bethesda's where both rumors and patterns seem to fall into place. There was roughly a two year gap between the release of "Fallout 3" and "Fallout New Vegas." It's been three years since "New Vegas" thrust players into the post-acopalyptic Mojave, a stark difference from the decimated D.C. of "Fallout 3," so the time seems right for another addition to the "Fallout" universe, whether it's another chapter in the concept introduced in "Fallout 3," or possibly even the next chapter as "Fallout 4."
It's also the only game that we've heard whisperings of development about. In early January, Three Dog voice actor Erik Todd Dellums tweeted that fans could expect some news about the DJ's possible return.
It's also one of the companies' properties that's held in excellent standing by critics and gamers alike, so it'd be stupid of the company to not add to it eventually. And with a VAST universe of people, events, and real world locations to draw on, coupled with the new FPS-RPG mashup gameplay style that's been popularized in recent titles allowing for old areas to be re-explored and stories to be re-told, there really is no end to the possibilities that a new "Fallout" game could take. Whether Bethesda actually provides this new game remains to be seen, but I'd bet that we'll be hearing about it pretty soon.