It's not always easy to loan someone something that's important . Most people know what it's like to be uneasy about letting someone borrow something, even if it's something trivial and the other person is perfectly trustworthy. Artists and designers of all kinds are familiar with that, video games included. Even a big studio like Bethesda is perfectly familiar with the struggle of loaning and collaboration, since it's done that before with the Fallout franchise.
The good thing about Fallout being shared with another studio is that it was a resounding success. Many Fallout fans still look back fondly on Fallout: New Vegas, where Obsidian Entertainment took the reins of the game rather than Bethesda's in-house game studio. When Bethesda wanted to turn to working on The Elder Scrolls, Obsidian turned out to be a very trustworthy friend, and it handled Fallout with care. Looking forward at Bethesda's rapidly changing future, now might be the time for Bethesda to loan Fallout out again. If it doesn't, there might not be another Fallout game for a really long time.
Bethesda's Long Haul
Bethesda doesn't have a ton on its plate right now in terms of projects: Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 are the only two titles by Bethesda Games Studios that fans know about for now. However, in Bethesda's case, it's never the quantity of games that makes things move slowly—it's the ambition of the endeavor. Bethesda has something of a reputation for going many years between entries in either of its star franchises, as fans need to look no further than the sea of memes about Skyrim and its long lineage of remasters and rereleases. Only now is the next Elder Scrolls game finally on the way, and it is still a couple years before it's out.
Bethesda also has a couple other things to sort out for its future. Now that the Microsoft acquisition is underway, Bethesda might not be interested in adding any more games to its plate for a moment, feeling more inclined to focus on what it's already started while it gets settled into the new bond with Microsoft and sorts out its model for the future. That means that Fallout fans will have to sit on Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 for quite a while. Just like Elder Scrolls, there's a distinct possibility that up to a decade could go by before the next chapter of the Fallout universe unfolds. Of course, there's an easy way for Bethesda to avoid a huge gap in time like that, as all it would take is loaning Fallout out to a trustworthy studio and working with it to make sure Fallout is treated the way it deserves.
Helping Hands
There's one obvious candidate for Bethesda to share Fallout with. Now that they're both under the same roof at Microsoft, Bethesda has never been closer with Obsidian Entertainment. Now is the perfect time for the two companies to reestablish the bond that ultimately led to Fallout: New Vegas. There's definitely a lot of fans that would be over the moon of Obsidian and Bethesda announced Fallout: New Vegas 2, or really any other new Fallout entry that Obsidian had a hand in. Obsidian's reputation as a masterful maker of action RPGs is better than ever thanks to the acclaimed spacefaring title The Outer Worlds. As a beloved co-star in the franchise, Obsidian would certainly be welcomed back.
Bethesda could also reach outside of its comfort zone if it lets someone else design a Fallout game. For example, it might decide that a studio like inXile Entertainment would be good with the IP. That studio seems like a particularly likely candidate because it's already spent years exploring similar narratives to Fallout via the Wasteland franchise. The brand new Wasteland 3 was pretty well received by critics, so it could turn out to be a decent early argument on inXile's behalf if Bethesda starts looking for a surrogate for Fallout. Not only that, but several developers at inXile even worked on the original games.
Bethesda doesn't even have to totally relinquish control of the game in order to get Fallout 5 developed. It's got the clout to strike a deal with another studio to form some sort of joint team, dedicating a few members of Bethesda's development team to collaborating with another studio on the next Fallout game. All in all, it comes down to Bethesda needing to take the load off itself in some way to make the next game, as by not doing so, it could be 2030 or beyond before a new Fallout game drops.
Exploring the Wasteland
For the time being, Fallout fans can get the sense that Bethesda is focused on rolling out updates for Fallout 76 rather than developing a new game in the franchise. There's been some major expansions released, there's regular patches for the game, and there's still frequent events rotating through it. Not everyone is going to be happy about the implication that the franchise is going to linger in Fallout 76 for a while, but there's no sign that a new game is on its way. Handing off the franchise to another developer for a little while really seems like the best scenario for a new game to happen.
That might end up being healthy for Fallout as a whole, too. Fallout 76 has generated a bit of controversy among fans, so maybe letting a fresh set of eyes look at this version of the apocalypse will push the games in a new direction that will please both Bethesda and its player base. Whether it means getting back in tough with Fallout's roots or innovating on the formula, plenty of good changes could come out of putting many heads together, even if it's at the risk of bad changes. Bethesda really needs to share the rights for Fallout again, not just to appease fans, but for the sake of the studio and Fallout itself. After all, it'd be a shame to wait another ten years for a new game in the series. War may never change, but Bethesda always can.
No new Fallout games have been announced.