At Bethesda’s Pre-E3 2015 Press Conference, their first ever in the major gaming event’s history, the developer/publisher wanted to come out swinging. As the first company to hold their press conference – not counting smaller pre-E3 events – Bethesda was able to set the tone for this year’s festivities, and boy what a tone that was.

In a showcase filled with profile titles like Dishonored 2 and DOOM it was none other than Fallout 4 that stole the show. Bethesda knew what the fans and press were in Los Angeles to see, and they even played coy with it – pretending as if the event was over without even a mention of Fallout 4.

But, of course, the Bethesda E3 2015 press conference was not over; in some ways, in fact, it was only just beginning. Following a brief intro from Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard, the presentation then dove head first into the world of Fallout 4, from some story teases to player customization. Howard even revealed a truly awesome Fallout 4 Collector’s Edition that features a “working” Pipboy.

Each of these singular announcements would have been suitable for a “mic drop” moment, but Howard and Bethesda had a true bombshell up their sleeve. After years of teasing fans with the existence of Fallout 4, Bethesda wasn’t willing to let them wait too much longer. Fallout 4 is not some far off release, it's set to hit PC, PS4, and Xbox One set on November 10th, 2015.

Given the amount of time Bethesda Game Studios has had Fallout 4 in development, it’s not surprising to see them announce such an imminent release date. In fact, rumors after the initial Fallout 4 reveal had the game releasing as soon as October of this year, but clearly those were false.

The idea of Fallout 4 cutting straight to the chase, though, was not false, and the excitement following Todd Howard’s release date announcement was palpable. You could tell that Bethesda knew they had an ace up their sleeve and they played their cards well.

In total, the Fallout 4 presentation was enough to set the tone for E3 2015. Sparse gameplay was shown, a few key features were highlighted, and then a release date was revealed. It was the type of no fuss preview that is refreshing to see in this age of CG trailers and ambiguous bullet point presentations.

Bethesda didn’t need to convince fans why they need to play Fallout 4, because most have already made up their mind. And the developer didn’t need to show gamers what it would be like to play Fallout 4; they will know soon enough.

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Did you expect Fallout 4 would release so soon? How quickly will you file a pre-order?

Fallout 4 releases November 10, 2015 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.