Fallout lead backtracks after revealing link between the original RPG and Fallout 4 that fans say makes one protagonist a war criminal

Fallout game lead Emil Pagliarulo revealed that the male protagonist of Fallout 4, Nate, may have been a war criminal in the past, but he later clarified that this information is not canon and that players can decide Nate's past for themselves.

The live-action Fallout TV show has caused a huge rise in popularity for Bethesda's beloved RPG series, with concurrent player counts on the rise on Steam. Amongst the excitement, one Fallout lead has shared a previously unknown snippet of information connecting the original game to Fallout 4, but he's quickly backtracked on it due to how the fanbase received it.

Bethesda studio design director Emil Pagliarulo was the lead writer for Fallout 3, 4, and Fallout Shelter. He recently fought back against claims that "he doesn't give a shit" about Fallout's lore, saying that "being the person whose job and passion it is to keep the Fallout lore intact" has been "the honor of a lifetime." Needless to say, he takes his job very seriously, but he's had to wind things back after fans thought his latest revelation implied that Fallout 4's male protagonist, Nate, was a war criminal. 

"Given the great vibes recently, and the millions of amazing Fallout fans (that's you!) I feel like the time is right to finally share an unknown link between Fallout 1 and Fallout 4," Pagliarulo initially wrote on Twitter, sharing an image of protagonist Nate. "Remember the Fallout 1 opening movie? Annexation of Canada? SAME. GUY. (No, NOT the shooter!)"

In the scene he's referring to, captioned as "our dedicated boys keep the peace in newly annexed Canada," two soldiers are seen standing behind an individual struggling with their hands tied behind their back. One of these soldiers shoots them while the other one appears to laugh, before they both acknowledge the camera. According to Pagliarulo, then, Fallout 4's Nate was the soldier who laughed as this happened, prompting confused responses from fans.

Given the great vibes recently, and the millions of amazing Fallout fans (that's you!) I feel like the time is right to finally share an unknown link between Fallout 1 and Fallout 4. Remember the Fallout 1 opening movie? Annexation of Canada? SAME. GUY. (No, NOT the shooter!) 🤓 pic.twitter.com/9JNWmg7yL0April 13, 2024

"So the main protag we are supposed to have sympathy for losing his wife and kid is the same guy who is laughing as his buddy murders an unarmed prisoner?" one player questions. 

"But… why? [...] What purpose does making Nate a war criminal serve, narratively speaking? If anything, I feel like this goes directly against what the FO4 intro tries to portray him as: a scared soldier caught up in a terrifying, world-ending conflict." asks another. 

Responding to this, Pagliarulo said that he respectfully disagrees, and that "inherently good people, especially in the Fallout universe, can do some pretty shitty things to adapt and survive." However, he then went on to make his stance clearer still, clarifying: "Not every bit of Fallout info I share is automatically canon. Nate is NOT a war criminal!"

He explains: "When you're world and character building, you have a LOT of head canon. You're always sorting ideas. Early on, we talked about that being Nate, in that video. He had been through hell as a soldier. Every day was another unknown horror. This was one of them.

"So, internally, it was a cool nod to OG Fallout and a way to fictionally frame the character," Pagliarulo continues. "It wasn't shared with the player because it was never meant to be who YOU think Nate is. For a player, Nate's soldier past is whatever you think it is. THAT is canon."

In a separate reply, Pagliarulo reiterates that "canonizing it wasn't my intent," so it definitely doesn't seem that he wants this snippet of information to be baked into the existing Fallout lore. Rather, it appears that he'd rather continue to have players decide what Nate's past was like for themselves, regardless of internal discussions that took place during the RPG's development.

If you're looking to get into the Fallout series, be sure to check out our ranking of the best Fallout games to find your next adventure.