What Year Does Fallout 4 Take Place?

When Bethesda released, it actually wasn't the fourth game in the series. By the time the title came out, there had already been six previous games. The series dates all the way back to 1997 with the groundbreaking first entry that introduced the irradiated world of the Vault Dweller. was released a full 18 years after the original, but where does it fall on the in-game timeline?

It turns out, all the numbered games were released in chronological order. This means that the events of take place after the events of, and so on. is set in 2161, nearly a century after a nuclear war devastated the entire world. By the time comes around, a significant amount of time has passed.

takes place in the year 2287, but the protagonist's story actually starts much earlier than that. Players watch their character go through their life and create a family. The game's events are put into motion on October 23, 2077, the day of the Great War. On this day, the character, their spouse, and their son are cryogenically frozen in Vault 111.

Although each game in the Fallout series functions as a mostly standalone story, they each have their place in the franchises' canon timeline.

They are seen again years later when the protagonist's spouse and son are woken up in 2227. Players watch helplessly as the spouse is killed, and the son is kidnapped before the protagonist is refrozen again. When they awaken again, it's October 10, 2287, making it a whole 210 years after the Great War and their initial freezing.

The protagonist realizes upon awakening that they're the only one left alive from their Vault, giving them the name the Sole Survivor. They then embark on a quest to avenge their spouse's death and find their son. is not a perfect game and it includes several plot holes, but it is one of the most beloved titles in the series.

takes a fairly linear approach to storytelling, with most games taking place after the previous installment. The only real exception is whose events play out