Bethesda’s Design Director Envisions Fallout 5 as a 600-Hour Adventure

As Fallout season 2 draws in new fans to the world of New Vegas and keeps viewers engaged in the wasteland, many are casting curious glances at Bethesda regarding a potential new entry in the series. While there hasn’t been much buzz about Fallout 5, some key developers shared their aspirations for the franchise’s future.

Emil Pagliarulo, the studio’s design director, expressed his desire for a game that matches the success of its predecessors while delivering what fans cherish. “I would be happy with a game that is as successful as the previous Fallout games that continues to give fans what they love,” he said. “To give them a story that they can get into and systems that they love and really just an experience that they play not for 20 hours and not for 100 hours, but an experience they can play for 200, 300, 600 hours, because that’s the kind of games we make.”

When it comes to Bethesda titles, lengthy playtimes are a defining feature. I’ve easily poured hundreds of hours into Oblivion, and several other games from the studio have also seen me clocking in triple digits. Whatever direction Fallout 5 takes, it has a high bar to meet in terms of scale and replayability, especially considering the vastness of Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4.

Players can easily spend countless hours diving into side quests without ever touching the main storyline. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever fully completed the main quest in any Fallout game. I managed it once in Oblivion, but that was after a dedicated effort, having already racked up significant playtime.

Pagliarulo also aims to advance the series with quality-of-life improvements based on what players might not even realize they’re missing. “In the Oblivion remaster that came out, people forget in the original Oblivion, you couldn’t sprint. So, of course we’re going to add that in the Oblivion remaster,” he noted.

He concluded with a thoughtful remark: “The industry moved on, and so, we want to move on with it.” It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Fallout.

Bethesda’s lead emphasized that during the “time between Fallout 4 and Starfield,” the studio has learned that “there is no one definition of an RPG.”