Is Fallout and Wasteland in the same universe?

While the original 1988 Wasteland computer RPG was a key inspiration for Fallout‘s creation over a decade later, the two iconic post-nuclear franchises do not take place in the same continuity and feature very different worlds, lore, and backgrounds.

Wasteland: The Fallout Genesis (1988)

Wasteland was developed by Interplay Productions for Commodore 64 and MS-DOS in 1988. As one of the progenitors of computer roleplaying games, it laid down many genre conventions still followed today. Its post-nuclear setting struck a chord with players and critics, selling over 100,000 copies to great acclaim.

“Wasteland was one of the first RPGs I played and it cemented in me a love for post-apocalyptic games for decades to come.”

Wasteland’sFamine-stricken desert world, morally gray choices, and dark humor characterized a distinctly grittier type of RPG than fantasy contemporaries like Ultima. It focused on a squad of Desert Rangers trying to rebuild society in the American Southwest. Players encountered strange cults, violent raiders, and mutants while uncovering the ominous history of World War III.

When Interplay began developing their next RPG in 1994 that would become Fallout, Wasteland’s post-nuclear inspiration was an obvious foundation to build on.

Fallout Forges Its Own Identity (1997)

Fallout released in 1997 to similar acclaim, selling 600,000 copies in under a year. While Interplay wanted to officially license Wasteland, they could not secure the rights. Instead, Fallout’s developers, including Wasteland designer Tim Cain, used it as creative inspiration. Signature elements borrowed from Wasteland include moral choice/consequence systems and dark humor about human nature in lawless lands.

However, Fallout forged its own distinct aesthetic and world different than its predecessor…

Instead of the desert, Fallout’s setting of post-nuclear retro-futurist California blended 1950s optimism with bleak, ravaged cityscapes. Signature elements emerged like power armor, the Vault shelters program, the kitschy “Atomunk” aesthetic, and more.

While fans noted callbacks to Wasteland built into the universe and gameplay, Fallout was clearly becoming its own distinct franchise.

“We loved working with the post-apocalyptic genre…We designed it to be a spiritual successor to Wasteland, but we wanted something fresh set apart from it.”

-Tim Cain, Fallout Lead Programmer and Designer

This distinction between the franchises only continued through their 1990s run…

Franchise Comparison

Reboots Split Continuity Further (2000s)

After Interplay purchased the Wasteland IP fully in 2003, the series lay dormant while Fallout saw a popular resurgence under Bethesda’s guidance. Their beloved modern Fallout sequels continued expanding distinct universe lore never meant to crossover with Wasteland.

Meanwhile, Wasteland’s original creators at InXile Entertainment acquired the rights in 2007 and took to Kickstarter for a true spiritual sequel in Wasteland 2 (2014). Evoking the 1988 game in tone, perspective, and Southwest desert setting, this new continuity reboot built on the original lore separate from newer Fallout entries. Wasteland 3 (2020) continued advancing these rebuilt storylines and factions like the Desert Rangers.

While InXile developers often show their Fallout fandom, no claims are ever made of both existing in one universe. At most, Wasteland’s patriarch Brian Fargo called his series “Fallout’s granddaddy” as a pioneering predecessor but each stands apart.

“Wasteland was certainly the origin of our wonderful Fallout world. Long live Wasteland!”

-Leonard Boyarsky, Fallout Co-Creator and Designer

Boyarsky’s sentiment shows respect for Wasteland‘s influence, without confirmation they ever intended it as part of Fallout’s expansive continuity across coasts and centuries.

So in exploring the history of these storied RPG series, evidence clearly upholds that Fallout and Wasteland do not share one fictional universe. While Wasteland and its dark post-nuclear ideas were a primary muse for Interplay in Fallout‘s creation, Tim Cain built something new rather than continuing 1988’s vision of America.

Signature elements of Fallout like power armor, vaults, and its twisted 1950s retro-future setting simply never existed in Wasteland’s broader canon, even if direct references to the earlier franchise emerged.

And as Wasteland’s own identity and lore has been rebooted in the 2000s onwards, that split the few threads potentially tying the series together even more.

So while their scorched Earth inspiration points may offer fun theorycrafting, officially speaking, no claims have ever intended Wasteland occurring in Fallout’s universe. They remain distinct series in a shared genre, not one continued world or dimension of survival and painful moral choices.