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April 12, 2007

Breaking: Fallout IP Sold To Bethesda

Breaking: Fallout IP Sold To Bethesda New filings with the SEC show that Oblivion and current Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks has officially purchased the Fallout series IP from current holders Interplay for $5.75 million, with Interplay now acting as licensee for its own planned Fallout MMO.

According to the filing, first spotted by Fallout fansite No Mutants Allowed, the purchase of the Fallout license and accompanying IP was settled on April 9th, with final payment installments expected to be delivered by the third quarter of this year.

Prior to the purchase, Bethesda was licensing the Fallout IP from Interplay as it has continued to develop Fallout 3, its own sequel to the cult-classic post-apocalyptic RPG series first developed by Black Isle Studios in 1997. In a recent interview, Bethesda's Pete Hines told Gamasutra that the team was “a fairly good ways into the process”, and noted that “Fallout is not a quick two year process, and we are already several years into the project”.

In an interesting twist, as part of the agreement Interplay now acts as a licensee of the IP as it continues to ramp up production on its own Fallout-themed massively multiplayer game, first announced in 2004 alongside Bethesda's sequel, and shown via internal documents as recently as December to have a projected $75 million dollar budget and launch date of 2010.

In a special clause of the purchase agreement, Interplay agrees that "full-scale development of its FALLOUT MMOG will commence within 24 months of the Effective Date of this Agreement" and that "Interplay will have secured financing for the FALLOUT MMOG in an amount no less than $30 million" within that time frame or forfeit its license rights for the MMO.

Similarly, "Interplay must, in addition, Commercially Launch... the FALLOUT MMOG within four years of the MMOG Development Commencement Date, or again, "Interplay will immediately lose and permanently forfeit its license rights under this Agreement." If and when the Fallout MMO launches, Interplay has agreed to pay Bethesda 12 percent of the game's sales and subscription fees for the use of the Fallout IP.

Prior to the purchase, Bethesda was licensing the Fallout IP from Interplay as it has continued to develop Fallout 3,

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:. To the previous poster, Morrowind with guns doesn't appeal to me any more than Oblivion with guns does. We have STALKER for that.

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Bethesda makes good RPG's, but the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series are about as different as you can get. I wouldn't say that Fallout has any more in common with Oblivion or Morrowind than it does with Final Fantasy. That in itself is worrying because they would be making a game nothing like they had ever done before if they want to stay true to the originals.

To the previous poster, Morrowind with guns doesn't appeal to me any more than Oblivion with guns does. We have STALKER for that.

Rightous Fist Of Heaven wrote:Has it actually been mentioned that Bethesda will be using the Oblivion engine? I recall Pete Hines from Beth mentioning that it will be using "new" technology but nothing beyond that.

Your release said that Fallout 3 will be developed alongside the next Morrowind. Will they be based on the same engine?
Todd Howard: We've been developing some new technology for a long time now that could be used in many games, so we plan on using that. It is not the Morrowind engine.

You've hinted that we might be seeing all-new technology powering Fallout 3. Can we assume that if this is true, it's an engine we've never seen from Bethesda before?
Pete Hines: Correct.

Will we see both the new Elder Scrolls game and Fallout 3 using the same engine, and if so, can you tell us a little about the technology?
Pete Hines: We aren't prepared to talk about technology specifics.

Vympel wrote:

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Bethesda makes good RPG's, but the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series are about as different as you can get. I wouldn't say that Fallout has any more in common with Oblivion or Morrowind than it does with Final Fantasy. That in itself is worrying because they would be making a game nothing like they had ever done before if they want to stay true to the originals.

Depends on how strictly you define staying true to the originals. The following interpretations spring immediately to mind:

1. Location/setting/background/tone

The loosest definition. Fallout fan reaction to such definition: rabid hatred;

2. Location/setting/background/SPECIAL system

Fallout fan reaction to such definition: hatred;

3. Location/setting/background/SPECIAL system/turn-based combat

Fallout fan reaction: dislike

4. Location/setting/background/SPECIAL system/turn-based combat/ isometric perspective

Fallout fan reaction: dissatisfaction

No. 4 is the best possible outcome Bethesda can expect from fans.

I don't count myself in the "fallout fan" category, however. I love Fallout, but I don't hate the idea of Bethesda having a go. I think they'll do a good game.

Sir Nitram wrote:2) Multiple ways to victory.

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote: For one thing, a Fallout game has to have multiple viable paths to victory. Both Fallouts did feature lots of combat, but you could also sneak your way to glory, talk your way out or at least have lots of companions to do the dirty work for you, or use other skills in each special circumstance. None of the Elder Scrolls games have anything resembling these types of interactions, except perhaps the sneaking by, and even then you're often forced to fight to complete a quest.

For another, the Fallout games are fairly lethal as RPG's go. The realism doesn't go into Rainbow Six territory, but it usually didn't take more than two or three shots before someone would get penned in the dead book. All of the Elder Scrolls games, by comparison, have featured lots of HP and comparatively low damage, favoring the nerf bat style of fighting. And it works pretty well for those games, but it would feel completely wrong for Fallout.

Vympel wrote:(not twitch shooter shit) and so on. And of course, gory, weapon specific deaths like lasers cutting people in half. (no over the top stuff like a 5.56mm pistol blowing an arm/chunk of torso off a person though)

SirNitram wrote:
You must be one of those heretics who didn't take Bloody Mess.

But yea. It's sophmoric, it's to a degree silly, but Fallout was a world with the gloves off.

SirNitram wrote: You must be one of those heretics who didn't take Bloody Mess.

But yea. It's sophmoric, it's to a degree silly, but Fallout was a world with the gloves off. I won't go apecrap on someone if they remove swearing to get under a specific rating, but themes like slavery, drugs, sex, and the many ways man can fall to ruin were actual additions to the story.

Except for the porno job or trading Jet around. That was just for some ammo money, I swear. I never inhaled.

1) Fallout 3 will disappoint Fallout fans and delight everyone else.

The only thing that confuses me about Bethesda getting the Fallout licence is why they'd even bother. Fallout, while important and brilliant, was never a runaway sales success. At the moment, Bethesda are arguably the most commercially successful western-style Role-playing Game developer on earth. It'd actually be far smarter for them to develop their own post-apocalypse setting from scratch rather than trying to raise Interplay's child from the nuclear ashes.

The idea of Bethesda doing a post-apocalypse game is as big a story as Bethesda doing Fallout 3. Perhaps even a bigger story. Since it'll be presumably be appearing on the consoles, where it'll have no history whatsoever, the "3" is going to make people back away slowly. (Don't expect it to come out under the name "Fallout 3" but "Fallout: Some Extra Subtitle")

So what have they bought with the licence? Just the enmity of the hardcore Fallout fans who'll hate any game Bethesda make with it just on principle.

So why did they do it? Only reason I can work out is Bethesda are just dirty big Fallout fans and would love to play in the Sandbox. Which is a good a reason for the rest of us to be very excited indeed.

Fallout 3 better have kids in it- and you better be able to kill them and get the huge negative Child-Killer title. Take them out for the European version, I don't care, but the exclusion of them from other editions makes no sense from a realism perspective. Oblivion and Morrowind with no kids in it was already creepy enough.

SirNitram wrote:You must be one of those heretics who didn't take Bloody Mess.