Fallout to become MMO?

By Tom Bramwell Published 13 December, 2006

Interplay seems to hope so.

Interplay reckons that flogging some stock will help it finance a 75-million-dollar massively multiplayer game based on the Fallout RPG series.

That's according to a presentation document on the Securities & Exchange Commission website, which outlines the goal of launching the game in Q3 2010, and aims to entice investors.

A Fallout MMO, Interplay says, would appeal by "giving consumers an ongoing virtual experience of today's life as if the Cold War, which lasted for the best part of the second half of last century, had led to a nuclear disaster".

The subscription-based game would cost a lot to make and run though - with a budget that "totals $75,000,000 and will be funded by Interplay, its development and distribution partners" (and the aforementioned whoring of stock).

If things go to plan, Interplay hopes to start production next month - giving it just over three and a half years to get things ready - and then quickly build an audience of one million subscribers in the first year the game's on sale.

Interplay hasn't released any information about the proposal to the press at the moment, or clarified whether the document - filed in late November by the looks of it - got them anywhere. Still, judging by all the "confidential" markers, we expect someone, somewhere is going nuclear, even if it doesn't result in an actual game.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ceatlan #1 5 years ago

    I'd prefer it if they just made a new single player Fallout game. Fallout was as much about the story and excellent NPC interaction as the combat, and in my experience you'll lose everything except the combat in the move to MMO.

  • Zanuah #2 5 years ago

    This could potentially be awesome...! Though it could also end up being shit for the reasons mentioned already. :(

  • strangeed #3 5 years ago

    I have a baaad feeling about this

  • trav #4 5 years ago

    I thought Interplay went under ages ago?

    Fallout was always about the single-player. Just cause WoW was a success doesn't mean that the market needs flooding with MMOs. People will only play one or maybe two MMOs at a time.

    Keep Fallout single-player.

  • PearOfAnguish #5 5 years ago

    Yes, don't be stupid, Interplay. Fallout only needs to be single-player. It'll cost less to make too.

  • lambtron #6 5 years ago

    Come on you haven't quite finished raping a once proud franchise yet :(.

  • MrAtheist #7 5 years ago

    They flogged the single player rights to Bethesda. The game is on the way.

  • Genji #8 5 years ago

    No. NO.

    /looks at ceiling, spreads arms

    NOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOooooooooooooo

  • lambtron #9 5 years ago

    lol

  • MrChuckles #10 5 years ago

    Hmm, time to send them my CV :-)

  • zoidberg #11 5 years ago

    Not really Ja_Long... now we refer to them as "Life Choices".

  • UncleLou #12 5 years ago

    Great, they can FO3, sell the rights to Bethesda, but can afford to invest 75.000.000 USD in a MMORPG project?!

  • zoidberg #13 5 years ago

    This looks like money whoring. They just figured out the millions of dollars Blizzard makes with WoW monthly and figured "Why not us? That could save us!". So they took one of their remaining IPs and started begging for start-up money.

    Which unfortunately is quite a bundle.

  • Crea #14 5 years ago

    I give them a 5% chance of producing something, and a 5% chance of anything produced being any good.

    Giving an overall 0.25% chance of something good coming out of this.

  • pauleyc #15 5 years ago

    Ridiculous. It's highly unlikely Interplay will do anything at this point. Smoke and mirrors, reinforced by that 2010 launch date.

  • Xerx3s #16 5 years ago

    Interplay? I thought that they went to the eternal fields? What did they release in the last couple of years? Didn't Bethesda buy the rights of FO when interplay died?

  • mkreku #17 5 years ago

    Bethesda bought parts of the rights to the Fallout name, but Herve Caen (the only remaining employee/owner of Interplay) retained the rights for a Fallout MMO. Apparently he just refuses to give up. DIE HERVE DIE!

  • Wash #18 5 years ago

    Done well this could be great.

  • Xerx3s #19 5 years ago

    Perhaps he did die, sounds to me like he is one of those filthy mutants!

  • w00t #20 5 years ago

    /hopes it will be good

    /expects hopes to be remorselessly crushed

  • Tonka #21 5 years ago

    It's Vader time

  • Jheronimus #22 5 years ago

    A Mmo without a fantasy setting. This could be intriguing!

  • ekko #23 5 years ago

    This won't have any impact on Fallout 3 will it?

    Personally I think if they get this made then it would be quite good, $75m. is a lot of money for a game and by 2010 World of Warcraft will probably be on it's last legs or so good that any other MMO will need to be fecking amazing to stand a chance.

  • magicpanda #24 5 years ago

    The market (me) needs a really good Scifi mmorpg a bit like wow, maybe fps.

  • pauleyc #25 5 years ago

    Magic Panda, do you know Tabula Rasa?

  • faselei #26 5 years ago

    Wow can't wait! ... oh wait ... 2010 ... damn.

  • Genji #27 5 years ago

    Too many people would ruin Fallout. It's supposed to be a lonely game.

  • Hunam85 #28 5 years ago

    They've been dancing around this project for ever, but the game will most likley fail as the rabid Fallout community hates interplay...

  • Genji #29 5 years ago

    Yeah... there's some scary bastards at NMA.

    I mean, it's a great game, but...they take obsession to new extremes.

  • Avenger1324 #30 5 years ago

    Great idea with only a few big of problems:

    Interplay went bust and they held the rights to Fallout. AFAIK you can't claim bankruptcy and just hide your assets to use them later when you think everyones forgotten about them.

    Interplay sold the rights to Bethesda, who are making Fallout 3. They also have the rights to make more games in the future using the franchise.

    By 2010 it will be more than 10 years since Fallout 1&2 were released. you've simply left it too long to do something like this. To make a MMO you need a Massive number of people - all the fans of fallout have gone elsewhere because there was nothing suitable. They play other MMO's (if at all) and by 2010 they will have spent so much time playing those and building their characters up they aren't going to want to abandon them for a new unproven game which has no link with the games they loved playing 10-12 years before other than sharing the name.

  • Hunam85 #31 5 years ago

    Interplay did go bust, yes, but they didn't go under.

    Interplay sold the rights to Fallout single player games, they still hold the IP for the sole purpose of an MMO, as the company believes that running an MMO is the cashcow they need and are betting everything on an IP they people dont want them to have...

    The project probs wont get finished, or if it does, it will fail and hopefully remove the last of interplay on this earth...

    My final point is, that Fallout seems to be one of those brands that cant be hurt, Tactics and BOS both stunk and now they are just a fading memory, with people knowing that they were just souless cash ins....

    And timing for a Fallout game matters not, all the fans from the original are still around, angry as ever, and many new ones have picked up as Fallout now is one of those PC legendary games...
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/06 @ 14:04

  • Instinct #32 5 years ago

    Additionally, the Fallout brand isn't only going to appeal to previous Fallout players; surely all gamers can see the appeal of a post-apocalyptic universe? That is, of course, if Fallout is a post-apocalyptic universe - I'm only going on what I can remember from other people, having never played the game.

    Bit sad though. Red 5 Studios just opened recently, has secured 18.5 million dollars funding and they're made up of top Blizzard employees and the like. Little annoying to see 75 million go to a half-dead developer to develop a new installment of a half-dead franchise.