War… war never changes. This phrase has been well-known to gamers for decades, and since 2024, even people who have avoided video games so far are familiar with it.
All thanks to the brilliant series created by Amazon Prime Video, Fallout, whose second season is set to premiere at the end of this year or the beginning of the next.
Those who approached the show as long-time fans of the Fallout series might have found themselves shouting at the TV at some point, “Hey, wait a minute!”… This was due to the unravelling of a certain mystery on-screen that had intrigued players for 27 years. Who actually dropped the first bomb? What day did the bombs drop in Fallout? Today, we’ll dive into the topic of what started the vast Fallout universe.
But first, let’s remind those already familiar with the subject — and shed light for those who discovered this universe only through the series — what this retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic world is about and who created it.
A Few Words About the Fallout Franchise
The Fallout game series began in 1997 with the release of the first installment bearing the same title. Its creation and publication were handled by Interplay Productions, led by Tim Cain — his name is credited with the birth of this unique franchise.
The Interplay team also developed Fallout 2, which was released a year later. However, in 2006, the rights to develop the franchise were sold to Bethesda Softworks, where Todd Howard took over work on subsequent games. Bethesda released the third installment in 2008 and continues to publish new titles in the Fallout series to this day — rumor has it that Fallout 5 is currently in development!
In addition, several spin-offs have been released.
Fallout Lore
All the games in the series are set in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by the Great War, with the exception of the brief introduction in Fallout 4, where players can momentarily experience the world just before the nuclear catastrophe, and the Fallout 3 DLC Operation: Anchorage, which allows players to step into the shoes of a soldier fighting in Alaska during the days just before the Great War via virtual reality.
The Fallout games take place in an alternate reality where microchips were never invented, and most advanced technology relied on atomic energy. The Pre-War Times (before the destruction caused by the nuclear war) closely resemble the Cold War era — the late 1940s and 1950s — in the (real-world) United States. This is evident in the clothing and hairstyles of the characters, as well as the design of buildings, interiors, and appliances (excluding, of course, advanced supercomputers, robots and military tech).
Interestingly, this Pre-War setting, reminiscent of an old sitcom, is projected more than 100 years into the future by the game’s creators, to the 2070s. The events of the Fallout post-apocalyptic “present”, however, take place between the year 2102, which is 25 years after the nuclear war (Fallout 76), and 2287, which is 210 years after the bombs fell (Fallout 4). The storyline of the TV series, however, is set in 2296.
| Game Title | Year Set | Key Events |
|---|---|---|
| Fallout 76 | 2102 | Set 25 years after the Great War, players emerge from Vault 76 to explore the wasteland of Appalachia. |
| Fallout | 2161 | The protagonist, the Vault Dweller, leaves Vault 13 to find a water chip, marking the start of the Fallout saga. |
| Fallout 2 | 2241 | Players control the Chosen One, a descendant of the Vault Dweller, tasked with finding the GECK to save their tribe. |
| Fallout 3 | 2277 | The Lone Wanderer leaves Vault 101 in search of their missing father, discovering the Enclave’s plans. |
| Fallout: New Vegas | 2281 | The Courier is shot in the head but survives, getting involved in the struggle for Hoover Dam. |
| Fallout 4 | 2287 | The Sole Survivor emerges from Vault 111, seeking their kidnapped child in the Commonwealth. |
| Fallout TV Series | 2296 | Set in 2296, the TV series expands on Fallout lore, following new characters in the wasteland. |
When did the bombs drop in Fallout?
This information was later reiterated in Fallout: New Vegas and became a significant date in the TV series. So, what day did the bombs drop in the Fallout universe? The Great War, which caused total annihilation, took place on October 23rd, 2077.
Who Dropped the First Bomb in Fallout?
So, who dropped the first nuke, and how did it all begin? To answer that, we need to step back into the Pre-War past again.
In the 2060s and 2070s of Fallout’s alternate universe, things weren’t going well. While propaganda posters featuring smiling faces, colorful drinks, and white picket fences may evoke the idyllic American Dream, the world at the time was deeply ravaged and rife with conflict. The global economy relied heavily on petroleum and uranium — powerful resources, but ultimately finite. When these resources began to shrink, they became a source of international tension, with the United States and China at the center of the conflict.
Did the conflict between these two nations directly lead to the Great War? Yes and no. There are two prevailing theories — and, interestingly, they don’t necessarily oppose each other.
- China Theory
To start, a fun fact: the early Fallout games never explicitly stated what exactly happened or who was the instigator of the nuclear chaos. Tim Cain, the creator of the first installments and the father of the entire series, said as early as the 1990s that it wasn’t relevant who started it and how, but rather what the result of the Great War was — a devastated, desert-like world filled with mutated creatures and dangerous, savage factions. However, all the signs and information Cain provided, which were later continued when Bethesda took over the franchise, point toward a nuclear attack from China.
From the very beginning, we learn that the first act of aggression came in the form of an open attack by Chinese forces on Alaska, attempting to seize the petroleum reserves there (this event is explored in Operation: Anchorage). The attack was repelled, but then Chinese warships equipped with nuclear warheads began appearing in the waters off the western coast of the United States. On October 23rd, 2077, at 9:13 AM, the first missiles were launched, destroying Los Angeles, to which the United States responded in kind. So, who could have fired first if not the Chinese warships stationed off the coast?
This theory is somewhat supported by a character in Fallout 4 — Captain Zao, a ghoul who was once a Chinese officer aboard the nuclear submarine Yangtze, which has been sitting off the coast of Boston for over 200 years. Players have the chance to speak with him during one of the missions. Interestingly, even he doesn’t know if his fellow countrymen were the first to strike. In response to the initial fire, he launched five of the six available warheads.
- Vault-Tec Theory
The 2024 TV series, featuring the amazing Walton Goggins as the ghoul gunslinger, Kyle MacLachlan as the Overseer hiding a dark secret, and Ella Purnell as… well, us (the Vault Dweller who embarks on a mission into the Wasteland), is not a show loosely based on the concept of the franchise, but rather a continuation that fits into its canon. Todd Howard, who may not be the father of the Fallout series but has certainly been its stepfather, overseeing it for 17 years, was involved in the production of this work.
The series confirms the second theory, which is as deeply rooted in the Fallout lore as the Chinese Theory. Anyone who has played the Fallout games not in speed run mode, but persistently exploring every corner, reading every terminal entry, and listening to every audio log, knows that Vault-Tec only PRETENDED to be humanity’s saviors, offering safe havens from the nuclear attack. Nearly every Vault hides dark secrets, and in many of them, terrifying experiments were conducted (for example: Vault 87, where Super Mutants were created; Vault 108, with the infamous Garys, Vault 92, where musicians were tortured; and finally, Vault 111, with no living space and cryo-chambers).
Nearly half of the series’ plot, set in the Pre-War Times, revolves around the strange dealings and plans initiated by Vault-Tec, which, on the surface, seemed to be humanity’s salvation. In one of the final episodes, during a corporate meeting, words are spoken that sent chills down the spines of Fallout fans: “A nuclear event would be a tragedy, but also an opportunity. (…) Perhaps the greatest opportunity in history because when we are the only ones left, there will be no one left to fight. A true monopoly. This is our chance to make war obsolete because in our current societal configuration, which took shape without intentional guidance, we have friction, we have conflict, and we have war… and war never changes.”
Summary
Who and when dropped the first bomb in Fallout? China seems almost like an obvious aggressor — they were engaged in an open conflict with the U.S., and just before the outbreak (and swift conclusion) of the war, their nuclear-equipped warships were stationed off the American coast. But… did they really fire first?
On the other hand, creating and preparing the Vaults for conducting horrific research and experiments is not a project that can be executed overnight. It requires plans, funding, preparation, and purpose. And if the attack had not happened, all of this would have been in vain. Clearly, Vault-Tec benefited from the situation… but maybe they even caused it?
Source:
- https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Fallout_Bible
- https://80.lv/articles/tim-cain-reveals-who-started-the-nuclear-war-in-fallout/