New Vegas

Greed and excess define a desert war fought over water, power, and the future of the Mojave.

Fallout: New Vegas is an action role-playing game released in 2010 by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the Mojave Desert exactly 204 years after a devastating nuclear war, players control a courier who survives an assassination attempt and becomes central to a conflict between governing factions vying for regional control. The game features a freely explorable open world where combat involves firearms, energy weapons, melee gear, and explosives. Players navigate dialogue trees with non-player characters, where responses directly shape their reputation among the many different factions.

Quick Facts

Developer

Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher

Bethesda Softworks

Director

Josh Sawyer

Producer

Mikey Dowling
Jason Fader
Matt Singh
Tess Treadwell

Programmer

Frank Kowalkowski

Artist

Joe Sanabria

Writer

John Gonzalez

Composer

Inon Zur

Lore & Background

The game takes place in 2281 within the Mojave Wasteland, where three major powers fight for control: the democratic New California Republic (NCR), the totalitarian Caesar's Legion inspired by Roman history, and Mr. House, a reclusive businessman ruling New Vegas with an army of Securitron robots. The NCR holds the Hoover Dam to provide electricity, while both the Legion and House seek to seize it. Minor factions add complexity, including the xenophobic Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base, escaped convict Powder Gangers, drug-dealing Great Khans, technology-hoarding Brotherhood of Steel, and humanitarian Followers of the Apocalypse. The city itself was built from the remnants of Las Vegas, evoking 1950s imagery mixed with post-apocalyptic grit similar to Mad Max.

Reader's Guide

Players explore an open world ranging from small settlements to the city of New Vegas and Hoover Dam using the Pip-Boy 3000 for menus, stats, maps, and fast travel. Combat utilizes the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS), which pauses action to target specific enemy body parts using Action Points. Character creation allows customization of gender, age, and race (Asian, White, Black, or Hispanic) before allocating points to seven SPECIAL stats: strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. These affect 13 secondary skills like barter, guns, medicine, and sneak. Leveling up grants perks at even-numbered levels, such as the Rapid Reload perk increasing reload speed by 25 percent. Hardcore Mode adds survival mechanics requiring players to eat, drink, and sleep to avoid death from starvation or dehydration.

Did You Know?

Obsidian was given only 18 months to develop the game, a timeframe journalists noted as very short for a AAA title.
The game has sold an estimated 11.6 million copies worldwide since its release.
Six pieces of downloadable content were released, including four story-based add-ons that added new areas.
Completing the entire game in Hardcore Mode unlocks a specific achievement.
Project director Josh Sawyer used data from the United States Geological Survey and reference photographs to design the game's map.