I think once you advance the timeline enough, you can undermine the chances to still tell post-apoc stories, but it’s part of Fallout that you DO see a progression over time. My feeling is once you advance the civilization clock too far, however, you can’t really go back to telling “Fallout” stories, it becomes something else, and any attempt to tell prequels or “what came before” loses dramatic impact because you already know the world survives beyond what happens in the past.

That said, Tim Cain has said in the past he saw the franchise going into space, and this was something we tried to hint at and develop in Van Buren, which had similarities to the opening of Horizon: Forbidden West, if you’ve played that – certain level locations are designed to foreshadow directions for the plot and franchise.

I did object to the nation building in New Vegas, however, as it felt like too much. I don’t mind factions, I don’t mind big enemy/antagonist groups, but something about having the factions control huge swaths of post-apoc America didn’t really sit well with me – it felt like it made the world less dangerous and it didn’t make the world more interesting (House was different, but I think House and the Vegas faction worked because there was a lot to do with them, and also they had a strong figurehead representing the faction, which NCR lacked – and while the Legion had a strong figurehead, there wasn’t enough content for Legion or even a reason to join the Legion if you were playing a female or good karma character, which I imagine a lot of people did – most players seem to go the “Do-Gooder” route).