Say what you want about the latest Fallout games. They are clunky, yes. They have uncanny valley NPCs, absolutely. But they also have some of the best lore in the industry and diving into it is a rabbit hole not a lot of us can escape from. With the multiplayer game of the series making splashes from time to time, it is normal to wonder when Fallout 76 takes place in the broader spectrum of the franchise and how it fits in the convoluted timeline. My fellow Vault Dwellet, buckle up because we’ll tell you all about Appalachia’s story here.
When Do The Events of Fallout 76 Take Place?
As a short explanation, the events of Fallout 76 take place 25 years after the Great War or when the bombs dropped. As mentioned by everyone’s favorite Todd Howard, FO76 is a prequel of sorts to all other Fallout titles, meaning that, in the general timeline, Fallout 76 is the first game. However, there are many more things for the lore fanatics that are worth mentioning.
Vault 76 Opens
To set the background of what Vault 76 was and how it fits into Fallout 76‘s timeline, let’s describe this place first. Vault 76 was one of the few lucky “control” vaults. This means people inside would not be subjected to cruel experiments as we’ve seen in other shelters throughout the franchise. Instead, the bright minds of this place would emerge 25 years after the bombs to re-colonize Appalachia. And that’s when, on a bright day under a green-tinted sky in 2102, the Vault opened, which is what we know as “Reclamation Day.”
At this point, Vault Dwellers, or player-controlled characters, took it to these rocky mountains to build C.A.M.Ps, play hide and seek with the Overseer, launch nukes to other inhabitants, and so on. It was a very stale period when players only built small settlements around Appalachia and tamed a few mole rats or something because there was nothing to do after eliminating the Scorched threat.
People Return to Appalachia
A year later, people returned to Appalachia and reclaimed many of the destroyed places in this area. We could see a bigger number of Responders and other factions offer their help to Vault Dwellers. According to Appalachian records, this took place in 2103. At the same time during this year, the infamous Brotherhood of Steel returned to this rocky locale and established itself somewhere on the map.
This was a tumultuous period where many factions vied for control of this paradisiac landscape. Certain Vault Dwellers vowed their allegiances to certain parties, and the few moments of respite Appalachia had were thrown out the window.
Where Does Fallout 76 Fit in the Series’ Timeline?
The real question is, when do all the events of Fallout 76 take place in the timeline? As we mentioned, they all happened before any of the mainline and spin-off games of the series. Chronologically speaking, this is the first installment of all Fallout, which means certain games’ events like Fallout 4 were still a few hundred years away from happening. The same occurs with the live-action show. This TV series takes place in 2296, which is 219 years after the bombs dropped and hundreds of years after what transpired in Appalachia.
We know the series’s timeline is convoluted, but thankfully, Fallout 76 is the game that started it all, making it easier to track. It’s uncertain how far Bethesda will take this multiplayer game, but we hope more juicy lore bits come in the future because we can’t get enough of them.
