With its rich lore and iconic retro-futuristic aesthetic, the Fallout franchise has garnered a devoted following over the years. Now, as the series expands into television, there’s no better time to step back and take a look at where everything sits on the Fallout timeline.
When does the Fallout Show Take Place?
Before the end of World War II, the Fallout timeline largely mirrored that of our own Earth, diverging after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Keep in mind, this timeline will only include known canonical material and will be spoiler free for the most part.
Fallout Show takes place after Fallout 4. With all that said, let’s take a look at the timeline through the divergent history of the Fallout universe:
A Simple Timeline of the Fallout Series:
| 1945 | The Great War: A nuclear holocaust that leaves the world a wasteland at the end of the Sino-American War. Most of civilization was destroyed, except for those who ended up in vaults. |
| 1969 | The United States restructures into 13 Commonwealths. |
| 2037 | Mr. Handy robots become available. |
| 2044 | Nuka-Cola hits the market. |
| 2052 | The European Commonwealth goes to war with the Middle East over fuel resources. The United Nations is disbanded. |
| 2053 | A plague closes the United States border and leads to thousands of deaths. |
| 2054 | Vault-Tec wins the bid to begin construction of The Vaults. |
| 2060 | The European-Middle Eastern War ends. |
| 2066 | China invades Alaska for its oil. America declares war, leading to the Sino-American War. |
| 2077 | The Great War: A nuclear holocaust that leaves the world a wasteland at the end of the Sino-American War. Most of civilization is destroyed save for those who ended up in vaults. |
| 2102 | Fallout 76 |
| 2161 | Fallout |
| 2197 | Fallout Tactics |
| 2208 | Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel |
| 2241 | Fallout 2 |
| 2277 | Fallout 3 |
| 2281 | Fallout: New Vegas |
| 2287 | Fallout 4 |
| 2296 | Fallout (TV Show) |
With the exception of Fallout 76, all of the games and media are in order of release. However, some moments, such as Fallout 4’s prologue and a virtual reality segment in Fallout 3, occur pre-war and far before the games. This is nice and handy for anyone wondering where the projects lie on the Fallout timeline.
Regardless of where you start with Fallout, there are mountains and mountains of lore to explore. The pre-war backstory and world-building alone could have filled a timeline five or six times this size easily. It’s part of what makes the series so interesting, there’s just so little like it that in-depth.
You can catch all episodes of Fallout streaming now on Amazon Prime.
