Step into the haunting world of Fallout, where underground vaults promise safety but hide secrets, and the vast wastelands outside teem with danger and opportunity. Whether you’re a seasoned Vault Dweller or a newcomer curious about the post-apocalyptic saga, this guide unravels the mysteries of Fallout’s iconic vaults and the perilous wastelands beyond, bridging the gap between the legendary games and the thrilling new TV series on Prime Video.
Though the setting of a Fallout story always changes – the post-apocalyptic open world took people out of the vaults to New Vegas, Washington D.C., Arroyo, and beyond – some things will hold. Humanity will turn to factions, violence, and distrust to protect themselves. There will be radiation poisoned creatures, both animal and human. That Vault Dweller’s Vault-Tec suit will always be that screaming mix of IKEA blue and yellow. And everything will be goofy and dark in pretty much equal measure.
Now, that same world of Fallout is coming to television, with a new Prime Video show executive produced by Westworld’s Jonathan Nolan. The show is in the same timeline as the games – all of them, including Fallout 76. Which means we see some familiar faces: Vault-Tec; the cold gaze of the Brotherhood of Steel power armor; that ever-chipper wink of Vault Boy; and the irradiated horror of the Ghouls. But things will also feel decidedly new; we get to follow a Vault Dweller as a character – Lucy (Yellowjacket’s Ella Purnell), who’s just as shiny to the world as you might expect – and Walton Goggins’ Ghoul has a little more history than any of the irradiated monsters of the games.
Unlike a show like The Last of Us, Amazon Prime’s Fallout exists to expand the story as we know it, to show us new aspects of the Fallout world (even if it’s once again set in Los Angeles; what can we say, Hollywood loves a wink and a nod). It’s built for fans of the series and newcomers alike, and the result is – well, it’s Fallout.
Here’s everything you might need to know about the Fallout world to understand (or just back up) the Fallout TV show.
Read More
Digging in on the Fallout show
Fallout took the Alien approach with the Brotherhood of Steel – and it worked
The dirty secret to making sci-fi believable
Kyle MacLachlan’s subtle dread and kind smile made him perfect for Fallout
Fallout is coming back for season 2 – here’s what we know
Fallout’s violence and gore are part of its charm
The Fallout TV series is more like a great sequel to the games than just an adaptation
Fallout’s first look has a Vault Dweller-Ghoul-Brotherhood showdown
New Fallout trailer gives us our best look yet at Walton Goggins’ fascinating Ghoul
Digging through the Fallout TV series’ trailer and everything else we know about the show
Amazon’s Fallout TV series starts a new plot in the same universe as the games
Amazon’s Fallout series gives us a look at power armor, ghouls, and a new vault
Here’s a first look at Amazon’s Fallout TV series
Fallout Fallout took the Alien approach with the Brotherhood of Steel – and it worked
Opinion The dirty secret to making sci-fi believable
Fallout Kyle MacLachlan’s subtle dread and kind smile made him perfect for Fallout
Fallout Fallout is coming back for season 2 – here’s what we know
TV Fallout’s violence and gore are part of its charm
Fallout The Fallout TV series is more like a great sequel to the games than just an adaptation
Fallout Fallout’s first look has a Vault Dweller-Ghoul-Brotherhood showdown
TV New Fallout trailer gives us our best look yet at Walton Goggins’ fascinating Ghoul
Fallout Digging through the Fallout TV series’ trailer and everything else we know about the show
News Amazon’s Fallout TV series starts a new plot in the same universe as the games
News Amazon’s Fallout series gives us a look at power armor, ghouls, and a new vault
News Here’s a first look at Amazon’s Fallout TV series More Stories
Lore you (might) need to know for the show
Fallout’s final scene hints at a more complicated universe
Fallout’s Vaults have even crazier experiments in the games
Everything Fallout has revealed about the NCR
Every Easter egg in the Fallout show, in which Easter eggs are very cheeky
Fallout fans spent years debating who dropped the bombs – then the show made a call
Fallout’s glimpse of the Enclave is just the beginning
The Fallout TV show gives the game’s mascot an origin story that matters
The Fallout TV show reminds us: Vault-Tec really is that bad
The Fallout timeline
Fallout Fallout’s final scene hints at a more complicated universe
Fallout Fallout’s Vaults have even crazier experiments in the games
Fallout Everything Fallout has revealed about the NCR
Fallout Every Easter egg in the Fallout show, in which Easter eggs are very cheeky
Fallout Fallout fans spent years debating who dropped the bombs – then the show made a call
Fallout Fallout’s glimpse of the Enclave is just the beginning
Fallout The Fallout TV show gives the game’s mascot an origin story that matters
Fallout The Fallout TV show reminds us: Vault-Tec really is that bad
Feature The Fallout timeline
Before the fall – everything to know about Fallout, Bethesda, and the games
The cursed Vault Boy drawing Fallout creators would like to forget, but fans never will
Bethesda and Microsoft: A tight relationship over two decades
Bethesda sues Warner Bros, calls its Westworld game ’blatant rip-off’ of Fallout Shelter
A brief history of Bethesda’s many legal tangles
Culture The cursed Vault Boy drawing Fallout creators would like to forget, but fans never will
Analysis Bethesda and Microsoft: A tight relationship over two decades
News Bethesda sues Warner Bros, calls its Westworld game ’blatant rip-off’ of Fallout Shelter
News A brief history of Bethesda’s many legal tangles
Where to start with the Fallout games
Fallout: New Vegas endures because of big clunky story swings
Fallout 76 will be free when the Fallout TV show debuts through Amazon Prime
I spent 453 hours in Fallout 4 and all I got was this stinkin’ inner peace
Fallout 76 still has a fan base that’s committed to the core
How Fallout 76 handles the Brotherhood of Steel
The Fallout series’ most authentic performances happen in the Wasteland
Fallout’s NCR reveal hurt – even if it was inevitable
Gaming Fallout: New Vegas endures because of big clunky story swings
News Fallout 76 will be free when the Fallout TV show debuts through Amazon Prime
Opinion I spent 453 hours in Fallout 4 and all I got was this stinkin’ inner peace
PlayStation Fallout 76 still has a fan base that’s committed to the core
News How Fallout 76 handles the Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout The Fallout series’ most authentic performances happen in the Wasteland
What secrets do the vaults hold about Fallout’s post-apocalyptic world
The vaults in Fallout’s post-apocalyptic world hold dark and twisted secrets far beyond mere survival shelters. Originally presented as safe havens from nuclear devastation, many vaults were in fact elaborate social and psychological experiments orchestrated by the Vault-Tec corporation to test human behavior under extreme conditions. Some vaults subjected their inhabitants to cruel trials such as enforced isolation, hallucination tests, time loops of torture, and forced addiction cycles, revealing the brutal extent of Vault-Tec’s unethical science. Additionally, Vault-Tec’s experiments were part of a broader plan linked to the Enclave’s ambitions to create an ideal civilization and prepare for space colonization, using the vault dwellers as unwitting test subjects for humanity’s future. These experiments have left lasting impacts on the wasteland’s societies and shaped many of its characters and stories, making the vaults pivotal to understanding Fallout’s grim world.
What were the true purposes behind Vault-Tec’s experiments in the vaults
Vault-Tec’s true purpose behind the vault experiments was to develop and test the technologies necessary for building a multi-generational starship capable of interstellar travel. Rather than simply serving as shelters to save a fraction of the American population from nuclear war, the vaults were designed as experimental environments to study how humans would survive long-term confinement, resource management, and social dynamics in isolated conditions akin to those on a starship. This plan, devised by the Enclave and Vault-Tec before the war, aimed to ensure humanity’s survival by preparing the best and brightest to eventually colonize another planet, as they anticipated there would be no Earth to return to after nuclear devastation. The often cruel and lethal experiments conducted in the vaults were intended to solve critical problems related to food production, water purification, energy, and psychological endurance for such a voyage.
