With the Fallout 4 hoax site charade still fresh in most gamers' minds, this tidbit of information could've come a lot sooner. If you've been holding your breath in anticipation for a new Fallout or Elder Scrolls game announcement from Bethesda, best let it out and take a seat, because suffice it to say, it's not going to happen for a while. Company Director Todd Howard said as much in a recent interview with RPS, no doubt bursting many a bubble across the landscape.
"We don't have a timeframe for our next game announcement," were his exact words when prodded about a new Fallout title. "But I think it's gonna be a while. We've gotten fairly used to all the questions and curiosity over the years. Everyone wants information. Right now, we're just trying to figure out which of our ideas are going to stick and finding an appropriate time to talk about it."
Howard did reflect on the fans' dedication to their more popular series of late, and that the work that modders are doing actually helps to keep the game going, and even inspire the team for possibe additions in future games.
"The stuff they do, we often look at and go, 'Well, why don't we just do that? That's really great.'"
"PC is resurgent. Skyrim did better than we've ever done on PC by a large, large number. And that's where the mods are. That feeds the game for a long time. And it's exciting that the new consoles are very PC-like. That opens up avenues for us going forward to do things that we've wanted to do in the past."
The creator of the Fallout 4 scam site revealed his intentions as one big attempt to "force Bethesda to reveal something during VGX/ on 12/11, and bring/r/Fallout community together (for at least 3 weeks)." When the truth of the site came to light, it caused one hell of a backlash, aimed at both the creator, and even Bethesda itself for not coming in sooner to dismiss it, something that company mouth piece Pete Hines apologized for, tweeting, "we could have done better and will learn and move forward. We don't claim to be perfect."
Despite the backlash and fan disappointment, Howard applauded the work, saying, "the ARG was very, very well done. It's a testament to our fans."
"There are kind of random ideas we're working on right now, and it's like, 'Wow, I think there's potential here to do some really cool stuff.'"
While it's disappointing that the future Fallout is indeed far away, at least the company has finally offered something on the matter. In the meantime, if you come across any other rumors for a new Fallout game, best heed Bethesda's warning: "If you don't hear it through an official channel like this, assume all rumors and speculation are false."
