Whether exploring the irradiated monuments of Washington D.C. in Fallout 3 or gambling away your last couple of Caps on The Strip in Fallout: New Vegas, the series' North American setting is an essential piece of the puzzle. And while players have previously been given tantalising glimpses of how the rest of Bethesda's bleak world might be faring, studio head Todd Howard says the plan is to keep the series set in the US.
The Fallout series retro-futuristic setting is littered with the remnants of US institutions, from The Enclave clinging onto some shreds of governmental authority to the cruel excesses of corporations like Vault-Tec. It's always been a savage satire of the concept of American exceptionalism, which just wouldn't feel right in other parts of the world.
In a new interview with Kinda Funny Games (thanks IGN), Howard explained: "My view is part of the Fallout schtick is on the Americana naivete and part of that. And so, for us right now, it's OK to acknowledge some of those other areas. But our plan is to predominantly keep it in the US."
Howard elaborates, explaining that this is something that Elder Scrolls fans have always wanted but that sometimes not knowing a thing can be more evocative: "It's OK to leave mystery or questions: what is happening here? I think those are good things. In the Elder Scrolls, everybody wants to go to these other mysterious lands. The worst thing you could do to mysterious lands is remove the mysteriousness. Keep mysterious lands mysterious!"