Todd Howard rates Fallout 3 as “average,” citing the need for multiple DLCs to address issues with the game’s original ending.

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In a recent interview, Todd Howard revealed that the ending of Fallout 3 received a lot of backlash from players. Despite attempts to create a more open-ended experience with the DLC, the Bethesda director admits he only rates the effort as “average.”

Howard shared that “people hated” the conclusion of Fallout 3, even though other games at the time offered more open endings. He recalls, “‘You’re going to get this video and then the game ends.’ We thought, ‘this is Fallout! It’s great!’ But players were frustrated, expecting a different experience, like, ‘why would the game end?!'”

This transition from a definitive ending to a more open structure was one of the significant changes Bethesda implemented in Fallout 3 through its DLC expansions. Howard noted, “We were committed to the idea that, like the previous Fallouts, it had to have an ending. We designed the character system and perks with that in mind.”

After receiving player feedback, the team reconsidered their approach. “We thought, ‘what if it didn’t end? How would we achieve that?'” Howard explained.

Despite their efforts to create a more open-ended narrative, Howard reflects on the outcome with a critical eye, stating, “We went back to the drawing board and tried to find a way to extend the story. I’ll give us an average grade on that.”

The developers aimed for the ultra-violent deaths in Fallout to evoke a sense of humor reminiscent of “an R-rated version of Warner Bros cartoons” back in the ’90s, emphasizing that it was meant to be funny.