Without a doubt, the Fallout franchise as a whole is generally considered to be one of the most popular and influential game series of all time thanks to the publisher and developer Bethesda's decision to evolve the gameplay from its top-down, isometric roots into the open world first-person shooter it's known as now. That said, though, the first title is still recognized as being a rock solid, if not near-perfect foundation on which to build the rest of the series, and today, it's celebrating the 20th anniversary since its original release, with fans being able to download it free through Steam for today only.

As of right now, fans of Interplay Productions' original Fallout have a little less than 24 hours left to claim the free title through Valve's digital distribution platform, with the offer expiring at 11:59 PM PT on Saturday, September 30. For those unaware, the date given was the post-apocalyptic and retro-futuristic game's exact release date back in 1997, and should fans miss out on the deal, the title's original price goes back to $20.

While the availability of Fallout 1 on Steam at no cost is definitely a solid way to celebrate the title's 20th anniversary, Bethesda unfortunately didn't extend any deals or discounts for other games in the series to acknowledge the occasion. Perhaps the next time the company will offer price cuts on the franchise as a whole will be when it officially releases Fallout 4 VR exclusively for the HTC Vive in December of this year.

Although Bethesda has undoubtedly put out fantastic products with the installments it developed for the Fallout series, the original Fallout still holds its own, especially when one considers its uniqueness in the field. And maybe if fans hope hard enough, Obsidian Entertainment will eventually see its wish come true soon, as the developer "would love" to make a new game for the franchise with Bethesda handling the publishing aspects.

Fallout is available now on PC.

Source: Steam