Fallout has risen to the top of Western role-playing games since its initial release as a post-apocalyptic world in 1997 under Interplay Entertainment. With Fallout 4 winning multiple Game of the Year awards in 2016, the franchise has cemented its place as one of the premium games available in the industry. With great success comes great expectations, and fans have been clamoring for even more detail in the Fallout universe for a better experience. Fallout has featured several factions across all its installments, and each represented something meaningful to fans of the franchise around the world. As a result, many fans have started dreaming of spinoffs based on these factions, with some even building mods and unique plots of how these potential spinoffs would appear. Some of these mods are immensely popular in the Fallout community, accumulating hundreds of thousands of downloads.
This fan dream presents an interesting option for Fallout developer and publisher Bethesda, which is always looking for ways to improve one of its flagship franchises. Everybody loves spinoffs -- if done right -- and launching spinoffs based on the most popular factions fans have seen in its games is sure to boost revenue and add more successful releases to Bethesda's belt. Should the gigantic publisher give a go-ahead signal for one faction to build up the Fallout universe, it will have fan bases of other factions clamoring for their spinoffs, which presents a good problem. Of course, only groups that highly resonate with the consuming crowd would get a spinoff in any hypothetical release. There are indeed some that fans would love to see more than others.
The Brotherhood of Steel
This is perhaps the most popular faction in the Fallout franchise, present in all of the series' installments. The Brotherhood of Steel was founded after the Great War by an army captain named Maxson and has been an iconic technological powerhouse in the series ever since. Arthur Maxson, the last descendant of Captain Maxson, played a big role in Fallout 4, leading the Brotherhood to victory over the Enclave. They can even defeat the Institute in the Commonwealth depending on the player's actions. The faction is heavily militaristic, bearing hostilities to groups like ghouls and synths. They are also highly suspicious of innovators of technology. The Brotherhood of Steel has seen a few spinoffs, but these games are distant memories for most Fallout fans, so it may be time to spotlight the Brotherhood again.
New California Republic
20 years after the Great War and the dissolution of the United States, the residents of Vault 15 founded the New California Republic, which has 140 years of history in the franchise's timeline. It is the largest nation to have risen since the Great War. In Fallout: New Vegas, the faction seeks control of the Hoover Dam and the Mojave Wasteland. As is often the case in real-life politics, the NCR struggles with corruption. Players are presented with the choice to maintain the moral high ground or join in the self-serving corruption when they join the NCR. Bethesda has a blueprint for any spinoff with this faction, as fans have already made mods centered around the NCR in Fallout: New California, which was well-received across the fan base.
The Minutemen
This faction is also a popular group among gamers, as they have the smoothest path to story completion in the series. The Commonwealth's local militia has no problems with ghouls, synths, and robots, proving to be one of the most unproblematic factions in the franchise. They have accepted all types of technology, both the old and the new. Gamers always like the most progressive characters, and the Minutemen fall right into this category. Some players note that the Minutemen did not get enough development in Fallout 4, with underwhelming endgame quests and shifty mechanics. A spinoff could set the narrative for this much-beloved faction right in the eyes of fans.
The Railroad
Be it in the form of movies or games, science fiction fans love seeing technology that might exist in mankind's future. Fallout 4 is no different. The Railroad is known for defending the synths - mechanical beings who were engineered by the Institute and now play a complicated role in the society of Fallout 4's Commonwealth. Factions like The Brotherhood of Steel bear hostilities to the synths, endangering them.
The Railroad's struggle in the Fallout games focuses on fighting for the synths, ignoring other needs of human life. Unfortunately, the Railroad's endgame quests are not much to write home about, so their story feels incomplete. A spinoff could give some desperately needed detail and personality to The Railroad and show the impact of their synth-driven initiatives.
Fallout's Raiders
Realistically, no laws should exist after an apocalyptic event like the Great War, and only strong groups banded together should have the resources survive. The Raiders bring this apocalyptic concept to Fallout, looting and pillaging the land as they deem fit. Players saw this faction in Fallout 4's Nuka-World DLC, New Vegas, and Fallout 3, and the group has gained fans for their carefree way of life.
A spinoff about this way of life where gamers can create their raiding parties and grow large enough to be a dominating force in the world is a logical choice. Of course, any spinoff would have to contain epic battles between raiding parties for it to be complete. With a well-thought-out plot and powerful story building from Bethesda, this faction stands a chance to build the Fallout universe uniquely.
Fallout 5 has been announced.