Fans think Amazon’s teasing a New Vegas or Fallout 3 remaster

A good video game adaptation has a way of reinvigorating interest in the original series, and Amazon’s Fallout show is no different. As we speak, and amid the season 2 return of the post-apocalyptic series, twice as many people as usual are playing the Fallout series on Steam. And so, when Amazon posts a tease seemingly tied to the end of Fallout season 2, the assumption is that Bethesda is going to take advantage of all that renewed interest.

What people are focused on right now is a special website erected by Amazon, which is styled to look like the green maps on Fallout’s Pip-Boy. Like those maps, there are several locations that you can explore, such as Vault 33, which offers a 3D tour of the facilities. There’s also a link for a digital version of Fallout’s terminal password puzzle, in case you’re feeling nostalgic for the frustrating minigame. And for those of you with extra bottle caps lying around, there’s also a link to the official web store.

One landmark, however, is currently locked. You can’t click it, but the marker does denote a timer that is set to end just over 27 days from now. What else happens then, you might ask? Why, that’s the season 2 finale of Fallout.

The tease could be for anything. For all we know, Amazon is waiting until the end of the season to release a Fallout season 2 blooper reel that won’t spoil anything. But part of the reason fans are hoping the tease is for something much bigger is that, for months now, there have been whispers of a Fallout remaster — possibly more than one. The original rumor stated that the remaster would be for a highly coveted game, which many have interpreted to mean the highly venerated Fallout: New Vegas. But it’s equally possible that Bethesda might start remastering the game that modernized the series to begin with. After all, Bethesda had great success with last year’s (shadow-dropped) The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.

The other major reason the rumor is believable is that Bethesda CEO Todd Howard has confirmed the studio is working on something Fallout-related. While most of the Bethesda team is currently focused on the next Elder Scrolls game, in late December, Howard told Game Informer that the RPG developer has also allocated resources toward Fallout projects.

“Fallout as a franchise is the one that we’re still doing the most work in above anything,” Howard said.

“We are doing other things with Fallout that we haven’t announced, and there’ll come a time for that,” he added.

Given the adoration for Fallout: New Vegas, and season 2’s focus on Sin City, folks are crossing their fingers that they’ll soon have a better way of playing the acclaimed yet very old RPG. Though it is purchasable on platforms like Steam, the available versions are notoriously buggy and do not have the bells and whistles that accompany true remasters.

But don’t get your hopes too high. While it’s increasingly looking like a Fallout remaster of some sort is imminent, the announcement or release of a Fallout 3 or New Vegas remaster may not be tied to the Fallout show at all. Teasing something as big as the return of the most beloved entries in a major franchise via an obscure website is a weird way of going about things. Whatever the case, we’ll know what the deal is less than a month from now.