Over the years, many games have gained a reputation for having a lot of theircontent cut prior to launchfor one reason or another. FromKnights of the Old Republic 2toCyberpunk 2077, these games have experienced cut content for a variety of reasons, ranging from gameplay design to flat out a lack of time to finish it.
TheFalloutseries is another game franchise that has seen a lot of cut content for many of these same reasons, even going back to the very first game in 1997. Here is a list of some of the most widely known pieces of cut content from acrossFallout’s27-year history.
One thing thatFallout: New Vegasnotably lacked for many people was a true exploration ofCaesar’s Legionin their own territory. Not only does their questline seem rather short and small in scope, but the player doesn’t get to visit any of their territory across the Colorado River. This wasn’t originally the case, however.
The Legion originally had a longer questline that took the player back to their own lands, where they would get a better idea of how Legion society functions. Some of this was cut both for time, though also because the Legion evolved to be less “morally gray.”
Not only was an entire Vault supposed to be situated in the eastern sea ofFallout 4’smap, but it was intended to feature a whole questline that was cut alongside it, its ideas repurposed elsewhere. Vault 120 was to be aBioShockinspired vault (clearly riffing on that franchise’s iconic city of Rapture), and was accessed via the Yangtze sub.
Its questline, “20 Leagues Under the Sea,” was also cut. If included, it would have seen the player interact with a Giant Squid, which may have been the vault’s overseer. The assets for the location were uncovered in the files ofFallout 76.
Alistair Tenpenny is like the opposite of Three Dog inFallout 3. He cares not for the little guy or any sort of “good fight” the way Three Dog does. Instead, he prefers to stew in his own wealth and unearned sense of superiority. In the retail game, the only way to get the measure of him is to physically visitTenpenny Towerand speak to him personally.
However, he almost had his own radio station to compete with GNR, where he would spout tons of out of touch life lessons and ignorant platitudes. The voice lines for this still exist in the game files and can be heard on YouTube.
3Van Buren: The Original Fallout 3
Black Isle Almost Released Their Own Sequel to Fallout 2
This originalFallout 3was very different from the one everyone got in 2008. Developed by Black Isle and published by Interplay,Van Burenis the code-named sequel toFallout 2.It was intended to be a proper isometric successor that featured both real-time and turn-based combat.
The game was nearing completion but was canceled, and its developer shutdown by Interplay. The “what ifs” surroundingVan Burenloomover the franchise to this day. Many of its ideas have been repurposed and reshaped in later games, most notablyFallout: New Vegas.
2Centaurs In The Commonwealth
These Walking Nightmares Would Have Taken the Place of Mutant Hounds
Players exploring the Commonwealth are likely to run into super mutant hounds at some point, given how ubiquitousthe super mutantsare in the game world in general. These hounds, however, essentially take the place that centaurs have in previous games, as guard dogs and support for their super mutant masters.
Centaurs are a grotesque combination of human and canine, and they would have seen their grossest incarnation yet based on concept art. Ultimately, it’s not known why these creatures were cut, but there are mods that add them back into the game.
1New Vegas Post Game Content
Players Were Almost Allowed to Play After the Game’s Ending
WhileNew Vegasshipped with a definitive narrative conclusion, there was a period during development at which the player was able to continue playing after the ending of the main quest, just likeFallout 2,3 and 4.Obsidian stated that the reason for this being cut was because the conclusion gave the game’s story and its many ending slides a greater sense of importance.
New Vegasis not the only game in the series to have a hard conclusion. The originalFalloutalso has a definitive conclusion.Should Obsidian do anotherFallout, it’s likely that they’ll continue this trend.
