Fallout has had a long and illustrious history, with eight games under its belt spanning back to 1997. Remarkably, every game in the series (with the exception of spin-off Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel) was met with critical acclaim. But there have been almost as many canceled additions to the franchise, with a total of five games getting shelved over the years for various reasons. Even the games that did see the light of day were heavily trimmed down from how they were originally envisioned.
Games having cut content is nothing new, just about every video game is parred down from its creators originally vision. But the Fallout games have always been unique in that we know pretty much everything that was cut from them. A combination of fans searching the each game’s files, and developers who are uniquely open about their process has resulted in the public knowing key features, quests, characters, and more that were cut from each game.
Let’s take a look at the top 15 things deleted from Fallout games and see why they were cut, how their inclusion could have changed the games they were in, and why they shouldn’t have been cut.
15 Meat Mine
You’ll quickly notice that a majority of this list is made up of features cut from Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian Entertainment’s 2010 spin-off using the same engine as Bethesda’s Fallout 3. The reason for that is simple: Obsidian has been very open about discussing the development of New Vegas, including the fact that Bethesda–who were publishing New Vegas–only gave them 18 months to make the game.
Of the many things Obsidian had to cut was a rather humorous weapon–an explosive mine hidden in a piece of meat. The so-called “meat mine” was literally one of the game’s frag mines, but with the Brahman steak asset. Modders found AI packages for Gabe, a giant cyberdog found in the DLC Old World Blues, that indicate you could have fed him the mine as a means of killing him.
It remains unknown why the mine was removed from the game. It would have been pretty hilarious to watch enemies die via exploding steak.
14 Calling The Cops
“Iguana Bob” Frazier gets his name from what he claims to be selling, one of the first Fallout’s famous food items, iguana bits. But it’s pretty obvious that this dude is shady, and if you go poking around his shop or the nearby Doc Morbid, you’ll discover he’s actually selling human flesh.
You can confront Bob about his dubious treats, and he makes it quite clear that he knows what he’s actually selling. However, there’s nothing you can do to stop him, short of killing him, which will only make the rest of the town hostile towards you. You can’t expose him, extort him, or even report him to the town authorities. It always seemed like an odd omission in a game where player choice ruled.
For reasons that are still unknown to this day, modders found unused dialogue files that indicate you were at one point able to report Bob to the police. You could also even break him out of jail afterward. It may not be a big deal, but including this in the game would have made it feel more complete.
13 Environmental Protection Agency
In Fallout 2, there was originally going to be a location called the Environmental Protection Agency featuring nine interior and exterior areas to explore, as well as countless puzzles and hologram enemies that patrolled the pre-war government building.
The level would have started with a parking lot outside, and the player would quickly enter the building via an office space. From there, they would proceed to Level Red, containing a security room, Public Relations, and a Museum. You would then go further into the building, encountering a cafeteria, a power core room, something called “hibernation,” and a memory core room.
There would have been several characters as well, including a talking toaster (later re-used in Old World Blues), a computer that can cure autism, and a human NPC who was locked in cryogenic sleep since the start of The Great War (later re-used as the central premise of Fallout 4).
It’s unknown why the player would have needed to travel here exactly, perhaps something relating to the Forced Evolutionary Virus. We do know why the area was never implemented, though it’s not anything dramatic. The developers simply ran out of time to finish it.
12 Harpoons And Bows And Arrows, Oh My!
When Fallout 4 first released, there was a big kerfuffle made when a modder found assets for a harpoon gun that was never in the base game. The harpoon was later used in the DLC Far Harbor, but one thing that never saw the light of day were the bows and arrows.
We know nothing about the bows and arrows in the game, other than that modders found art assets and sound effects for a compound bow and arrows buried deep within Far Harbor’s files. This weapon could have added a ton of depth to the game’s combat and crafting, as you’d have to find new supplies to craft bows, and you’d have a free silenced weapon.
The bow could have been cut for any number of reasons. A model was never made, meaning they never got the chance to test it in-game, meaning it isn’t likely due to balancing. Maybe Bethesda didn’t want to introduce new perks or tweak old ones to fit that kind of play style? We may never know.
11 A New Faction To Join
What makes Fallout: New Vegas so great is the degree player choice has over the plot. Because of that, it always stood out that you couldn’t actually join the Great Khans, a faction with a long history in the Fallout universe. You could side with them, sure, but you couldn’t actually become a Khan yourself.
Well would you believe the developers originally intended this to be an option? Modders found a quest in the game’s files called VMS48 that roughly outlines an initiation ritual that would have seen you joining the Khans. Part of the initiation involves the cage located in the middle of the Khan’s camp that never gets used, as well as a cut character who would have assigned you fights.
Again, it’s unknown why this feature was cut from the game. Given that New Vegas was developed in just 18 months, it was likely due to time constraints, and the ability to join the Khans was cut because they’re not a very important faction in the game.
10 The Burrows And The S’Lanter
The Burrows is a cut location in the original Fallout. Unlike many other features on this list, we know exactly why the location was removed from the final game. The Burrows is home to a race never used in the Fallout universe–the S’Lanter. These creatures are sentient raccoons. Yes, imagine a bunch of Sly Coopers and Rocket Raccoons walking around, and you’d have a good idea of what The Burrows was like.
It’s hard to say how big a role either The Borrows or the S’Lanter would have played in the game. They were originally written in the original design of Fallout and their backstory was greatly detailed. Four raccoons were originally experimented on at the West Tek research facility with the Forced Evolutionary Virus. They grew into sentient creatures, and escaped to found The Burrows in 2101. Beyond that, there’s an extensive background detailing the S’Lanter’s story in The Burrows leading up to the start of Fallout 1.
Tim Cain, the original creator of Fallout, stated that while the S’Lanter backstory was well-written, he decided that talking raccoons didn’t fit in the Fallout universe.
9 Old Joe Isn’t So Old
Ian was one of the companions available to recruit in the original Fallout, and while it was mentioned in Fallout 2 that he was killed while traveling with the Vault Dweller, an encounter with Tandi hints that he made still be alive. The original idea for Ian was more clear cut than that though.
At some point in development, Ian would have returned, calling himself ‘Old Joe’ and having a poor memory. He would have confused Fallout 2’s protagonist, The Chosen One, with Fallout 1’s protagonist, the Vault Dweller. When he realized his mistake, he would have given The Chosen One his signature weapon from Fallout 1, and asked that they make the memory of the Vault Dweller proud.
The inclusion of Ian in Fallout 2 would be a clear case of fan service, especially in the role of “Old Joe,” so that’s the likely reason why he was cut. Still, a little fan service never hurt anyone, especially if they put him in a bikini.
8 You Didn’t Just Miss Out On A Harpoon!
20 Leagues Under the Sea is a cut quest from Fallout 4. The exact details are unknown, but there are a few details we’re aware of. There’s a Pipboy animation for the quest which shows Vault Boy being lowered underwater in a submarine. There’s also an unused map marker called “MS03ResurfaceMarker” between the Yangtze and the Shamrock Taphouse, as well as an unused terminal entry in the Institute mentioning X6-88 and a new AI software upgrade.
The quest would have obviously seen the Sole Survivor going underwater to fight some kind of sea creature (possibly with an early version of the harpoon gun). Players have also found a mysterious dome structure underwater with several tubes wrapping around it. When it was first discovered, it was suspected this would have something to do with future DLC, but that never happened. Could this structure have originally been intended as part of this quest?
7 Hoover Dam Was Actually Something
One of the few complaints most New Vegas fans had was how lame the final battle over Hoover Dam was. It was a pretty simple battle with only a handful of troops on either side, not quite the epic battle it was hyped up to be throughout the game. However, this wasn’t originally supposed to be the case. There were two big things cut from this final battle.
The first were more soldiers on both sides, as well as medics from the Followers of the Apocalypse. In the game, you cannot get the Followers of the Apocalypse to side with either side, unless you’re playing on PC, where you can recruit them to the side of the NCR. However, even on the PC version, they never actually aid in the battle. But they were supposed to show up at the Dam originally, patching up wounded soldiers at makeshift triage units. There were supposed to be more soldiers from every faction involved too. However, all of this was cut thanks to the console versions of the game, which couldn’t handle that many NPCs at once.
The second feature cut was an entirely new area between Hoover Dam and the Legate’s camp. This area would have essentially have been a long road, complete with Legion trenches and defenses that you would have had to fight through.
6 Primm Wasn’t As Disappointing
Primm is likely the first city you’ll visit in New Vegas after leaving Goodsprings. You’ll also likely be leaving Primm as quickly as you got there. Other than the main quest of tracking down Benny, there’s only one side quest which is short and ultimately doesn’t matter.
Ever wonder why the Vikki and Vance casino is in such a terrible state, even though that’s the one building the residents were able to secure? Because originally, the Powder Gangers would have stormed the building and killed everyone inside. After that was changed, the residents of Primm, after being rescued by the Courier, would have wandered the streets and cleaned the town up. The Vikki and Vance would have been a fully functional casino complete with a bartender as well. The deserting NCR troopers you encounter in the town had a huge quest in which you help them find redemption.
Also, the quest involving finding the town a sheriff was more complex. To get the NCR to take over the town, you would have clear the NCR Correctional Facility of Powder Gangers, and then petition the citizens of Primm, including using speech checks to talk them into the idea. And of course Primm would have been a full town, complete with merchants, citizens, buildings, and side quests.
5 A Synth Spouse Is Just As Good As A Normal One, Right?
Fallout 4 doesn’t have much in the way of cut content, at least that we know of. Besides the harpoon gun and the underwater quest, there is another quest that was removed.
Little is known about what The Replacement would have been. The only trace of it in the game files is the unused quest log, an associated Pipboy icon showing a Vault Boy and Vault Girl, and a script indicating that it would start after the quest The Battle of Bunker Hill. Many have speculated that given the Pipboy icon and the name of the quest, it would have had something to do with bringing your spouse back from the dead via a synth.
This would have been great for several reasons. It was cool having a spouse at the start of the game, and it felt like a waste of great character moments killing them early on. Plus, it would have touched on some of the ambiguous moral themes Fallout has always been known for, like is it okay to bring your husband or wife back from the dead as a robot? Is that really the same thing? Should you tell them that they’re a robot version of your dead lover? It feels like a lot of great story was left on the cutting room floor.
4 Show Disapproval Of Animal Fights
The Thorn is an area in Fallout: New Vegas in which you can fight wild animals in what is essentially a cage match with spectators cheering (or booing) you on. You can also talk to the owner, Red Lucy, and bring her back eggs you find in the wild, which she’ll nurture until they hatch and can fight in matches.
If you’re anything like me, you thought that was fine. But if not, you might have wondered why you couldn’t free the animals to wreak havoc on the audience. Well, the original plan allowed you to do just that. Originally, you would have been able to hack Red Lucy’s terminal and shut off the power to the animal cages.
Unlike so many other pieces of cut content in New Vegas, it’s hard to say why this was cut. The feature was originally implemented in the game, so time had nothing to do with it. Maybe it just wasn’t that fun, or more likely some of the larger creatures got stuck on walls in the smaller, sewer-like level.
3 Imagine Me And You, A Ghoul
Ever wonder why you can’t play as ghouls or even super mutants in Fallout games? Well, if Obsidian had their way, you would have been able to in New Vegas. The problem? Bethesda.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart stated they wanted to have humans, ghouls, and super mutants playable in the game (originally titled Fallout: Sin City), but there was one problem.
“It really had to do with how all the weapons and armor worked. Trying to have them all work with ghouls and super mutants was just going to be… [Bethesda] felt like it was going to be a nightmare. It wasn’t like they said no but it was a very strongly worded, ‘We would really suggest that you not try to do that.’”
To be fair, Bethesda had a point. Not only would Obsidian had to have tweaked how weapons and armor looked and worked, they also would have had to change much of the story, since so many characters in the Fallout universe hate ghouls and especially super mutants. Not to mention they only had 18 months to make the game.
2 For The Brotherhood
One of the biggest changes Bethesda made to Fallout 4’s story was cutting a major twist in the Brotherhood of Steel quest line. Spoilers for Fallout 4 here, you’ve been warned.
Paladin Danse, a Brotherhood companion you can travel with, is not only a poor man’s George Clooney, but also a synth. When the Brotherhood finds out, Danse goes into hiding, and Elder Maxson asks you to find and kill him. When you find Danse, you have the choice of killing or helping him escape. If you choose to help him escape, you’ll be ambushed by Maxson, who tells you to kill Danse or he’ll kill both of you. You can choose to talk Maxson into letting Danse live, or fight your way out.
But another route that was cut was entirely different. This cut path had you and Danse teaming up to take down Maxson, killing him, and asserting yourself as leader of the Brotherhood. This wasn’t something cut early either, a big part of this route was written and even recorded by Danse’s voice actor, and they’re still buried in the game’s files.
1 Vegas Is Only A Fraction Of What It Could Have Been
The most disappointing thing about a game called New Vegas is that the city of Vegas itself was pretty crap. Well, Obsidian feels the same way, because both New Vegas itself and Freeside, the slums surrounding the city, were originally much, much bigger.
The Strip and Freeside are home to what are probably the biggest cuts in Fallout history. Both cities were originally supposed to be two big areas, rather than divided up into load zones. They were also supposed to be bigger–physically with more buildings, shops and casinos, and metaphorically, with more people, side quests, and lore. Freeside would have had drunks and pickpockets literally the street, harassing the player, and rich casino goers being escorted by guards to and from Vegas. Rotface would have played a bigger role–the more you paid him for info, the richer he would become, buying nice clothes and having ghoul honeys on either arm.
The Strip would have been totally different. It would have been a bigger area, there would have been gamblers in the streets and casinos, more casinos, more casino games, more securitrons and NCR troopers, more and brighter neon lights, and a eulogy blaring on the loudspeakers when Mr. House died, delivered by a recording of House himself.
The reason all of this was cut? The console versions of the game couldn’t handle that much going on screen at once, and the areas were massive cut down and divided between multiple load zones.
