Fallout: New Vegas Cut Ending Reveals a Darker Side to Yes Man
For a while now, it’s been known that Obsidian Entertainment had to trim some post-game content from Fallout: New Vegas during its development. Recent discoveries from an Xbox 360 dev kit have shed light on what some of that cut content entailed, revealing a darker twist to Yes Man’s storyline after the credits roll.
No matter which faction you choose during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, Fallout: New Vegas doesn’t offer a straightforward, morally clean conclusion. Aligning with Caesar’s Legion is undeniably brutal, but the NCR isn’t exactly a beacon of virtue either. Then there’s Yes Man, the overly agreeable Securitron modified by the antagonist Benny. Choosing Yes Man is the closest players get to a “good” ending, as he’s essentially a blank slate ready to follow any orders you give.
The question of Yes Man’s true allegiance has sparked debate among fans since the game’s launch, and interest has reignited with the return of Mr. House’s Securitron, Victor, in the second season of the Fallout TV series.
After the New Vegas hint at the end of the first season, fans have been speculating about which ending might be considered the “canon” one. Insights from project director Josh Sawyer and the resurfaced cut content have led some to theorize that siding with Yes Man could be the true ending of Fallout: New Vegas.
In a recent interview, the lead writer for Fallout: New Vegas, John Gonzalez, expressed that providing players with a “rebellious, individualistic” path through Yes Man—where they don’t have to align with any faction—might have been a miscalculation on Obsidian’s part. “I think that questline may have been a mistake, because it lets you get through the game without getting your hands dirty,” Gonzalez remarked. However, the conclusion of Yes Man’s storyline suggests that players might still get their hands a bit messy. After defeating Legate Lanius, the second-in-command of Caesar’s Legion, Yes Man hints at a significant change, stating he’ll be “going off-line” to “reprogram” his personality. His mention of becoming more “assertive” raises concerns that he may no longer be inclined to take orders from the player, which is unsettling given that he commands an army of armed robots. Yet, the lighthearted tone of the exchange leaves room for interpretation, allowing players to view the choice as morally neutral, with the true outcome remaining ambiguous as the credits roll right after.
However, newly uncovered cut dialogue from a beta version of Fallout: New Vegas suggests that Yes Man was originally intended to have a much darker role in the post-game.
On November 26th of last year, a video surfaced detailing the discovery of two prototype builds of Fallout: New Vegas found on an Xbox 360 dev kit in a Utah store. The contents of these dev kits were shared online, leading modders to restore a trove of previously unseen cut content. As highlighted in another video, numerous post-game lines of dialogue were hidden within these prototypes. The cut dialogue from Yes Man is particularly striking, with him telling the player to “fuck off” if they respond negatively to his announcement about his new “assertive” personality. One chilling line even has the usually cheerful robot discussing the slaughter of New Vegas’ civilians and using their “blood and their skins” to “decorate the Securitrons.” He does exclaim “Exterminate!” afterward, which might just be a playful nod to Doctor Who, possibly triggered by the Wild Wasteland perk. Regardless, it appears that aiding Yes Man could be just as morally questionable as the other endings in New Vegas, which might explain the bleak outlook for the Mojave in the TV series.
