Fallout creator Tim Cain says no amount of money or authority would get him to return to the RPG series, but he'd consider it under one condition

Tim Cain, creator of the Fallout series, discusses the possibility of his return and emphasizes that it hinges on whether the game would offer something distinct and engaging, unrelated to financial or power considerations.

The original creator of Fallout, Tim Cain, has been speaking about whether he'd ever return to the RPG series, and it all boils down to one main condition that's nothing to do with money or authority. Rather, he says, it'd be a "personal question" of whether the hypothetical game would be different enough for him to be interested.

As well as being the series' creator, Cain was a designer on Fallout 1 and 2, but he hasn't been involved with the later installments of the RPG series. He's obviously aware that there's a massive interest in seeing him return to it, however, as he now has a full video on his YouTube channel discussing exactly that. The short answer? Maybe, but it would hinge on whether the plans for the game would be notably different.

"Every RPG I ever made offered me something new and different that got me interested in making it," Cain begins. "It had nothing to do with money, power, authority, role on the game, it was the game itself offered me something interesting that made me go, 'Ooh, I want to do that, I've never done that.'"

Going on to speak about Fallout specifically, Cain confirms that he'd want that same condition to apply there. "If someone came to me and said, 'You wanna make a Fallout game?', my answer is 'What's new?'" he says. "I didn't even want to make Fallout 2, why would I want to make a new Fallout game? What's different about it?"

He continues: "You're not asking me a question about money, you're not asking me a question about power and authority, you're asking me a personal question, with a personal answer. Which is, would this be something I'd even be interested in doing, because it's different?" 

Speaking more generally, Cain reveals that he was "approached by people" over the pandemic asking if he'd be willing to direct their games, but he ended up turning them down, regardless of what position he'd be given on the project, since "I've been there, I've done that, nothing you're coming to me with is new."

As for what counts as "different" enough, Cain says if he was asked to return to a new Fallout game where the draw was "we may put in a new perk," then "I'm probably not interested." 

So, whether that day will ever come is another matter. For now, Bethesda has confirmed that Fallout 5 will be a thing, we've just not seen anything of it. It's really no wonder, though, as it was previously confirmed that it'll come after The Elder Scrolls 6, which despite getting a teaser trailer six years ago, hasn't been seen since. With that in mind, it seems we've still probably got quite a wait ahead of us before the next post-nuclear RPG, so we'll just have to sit tight for now.

*For now, you can check out our recommendations for the *25 best RPGs you can play now.