Fallout 4 is here, but where is the game set?

After a 24 hour countdown over at fallout.bethsoft.com (the biggest hint outside of context clues!), Fallout 4 has finally been revealed. There’s a lot to unpack from the trailer, so watch it yourself then scroll down for a rundown of what we know!

Here’s what we know about Fallout 4:

• Fallout 4 is set in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has previously been referenced in earlier games – specifically in Fallout 3, which says Boston has a shadowy organisation called ‘The Institute’ (supposedly set up at the former MIT) that does work into AI and synthetic life. Boston seems to have only half-survived – the environments look a lot like Fallout 3‘s mix of ramshackle-rebuilds and worn-out inner cities.

• Companions are definitely making a return – at the very least, you get an adorable Mr. Woofs to follow you around (probably not her name – but if it isn’t Dogmeat, I’m crossing my fingers that you get to choose it!).

• The trailer ends with a speaking main character – dialogue spoken by the main character is a first for the series, whether it’s in the final game or not. Fallout leads are traditionally non-speaking (though with plenty of dialogue) to supposedly give a sense of immersion – or it could be a fake out and the Vault wanderer isn’t the main character. Speaking of – in that Fallout 4 trailer there’s a lot of scenes of pre-War America, including a very specific focus on a baby: could they be connected?

• More vaults! Vault-Tec is making a return in Fallout 4 (as if that’s surprising), and on top of that it seems like there’s gonna be a lot of history involved – specifically, the great war that destroyed the World. The trailer stresses this a lot – it could mean almost anything, including that the game itself is set not-so-far after the bombs fall (but more likely, given that the Megaton-like rebuilt areas of Boston look fairly large and maintained, that we’re going to find out a little bit more about Vault-Tec’s vested interest in falling bombs).

There’s plenty more in there, including a few easter eggs for the eagle-eyed, but we won’t find out more until the Bethesda presence at E3. The game already has box-art and pre-orders so it’s hopefully a sign we’ll see it on our screens in all its irradiated glory before this time next year.

Fallout 4 will be released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Price and release date TBA.

Gifs from and .