Fallout: The New West Reveal Trailer Posted With a Promise to Uncover ‘The Original Fallout 3’

Fallout is a bustling realm that’s as much made up of the original projects by the developers as it is fan-made projects pieced together by those enthralled by the post-apocalyptic universe that emerged in the late 1990s. The latest entry into that world, Fallout: The New West, is no different, but it’s one of the more ambitious concepts to surface in recent years.

Fallout: The New West is a fan-made project that aims to remake the cancelled Fallout: Van Buren, which many die-hard fans have always dubbed ‘the original Fallout 3’. It’s what might have been had the original team not hit a patch of financial distress and shifted focus away from the series, ultimately selling the label to Bethesda Game Studios.

Fallout: The New West Revives What Might Have Been

Van Buren was canned in 2003 after months of development at Black Isle Studios. It would have been the third major release in the series, bearing the name ‘Fallout 3’ and taking players to the American southwest, around Colorado. Coincidentally, that’s where the next season of the Fallout television show is headed.

It was never to be, and in 2008, Bethesda Game Studios released Fallout 3, a monumental overhaul to the series and a real risk-taker of a game, after acquiring the licenses from Interplay and Black Isle.

Now, a group of dedicated modders is bringing Van Buren back to life with Fallout: The New West. It’s a complete conversion mod that promises to transform Fallout: New Vegas, telling the ‘same broad story envisioned by Fallout: Van Buren.’ On the website for Fallout: The New West, the game’s narrative was outlined, and by all accounts, it’s an ambitious stab at a near-forgotten game.

Days ago, The United West Team, the group assembling The New West, posted the first teaser trailer for the mod:

At the time of writing, the trailer had garnered more than 100,000 views and hundreds of positive comments. One user wrote, ‘For a moment, I thought this was from Bethesda and went, ‘Oh, so they were actually cooking.’ As always, it’s the community that keeps Fallout alive.’

Fallout: The New West actually surfaced around five years ago. In May 2021, the team at The United West announced plans to piece the mod together, but back then, it was dubbed Fallout Revelation Blue. Back then, it was noted that Fallout: The New West would not treat New Vegas as canonical.

One thing is for sure, and that’s that Bethesda’s Todd Howard probably won’t play this mod either, after effectively snubbing Fallout: London.

Are you excited to get your hands (digitally) on Fallout: The New West? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Layers of Fear 3 has been announced