Fallout 4 < nomobile > < / nomobile > Fallout 4 is a post - apocalyptic role - playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks . It is the fifth major installment in the " Fallout " series ( 7th overall ) , and was released on Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One on November 10th , 2015 , except in Japan , where it was released on December 17 , 2015 , possibly due to the need to censor some footage and references to atomic war , while still keeping the plot intact . Setting and story . The player is the Sole Survivor of Vault 111 , who emerges 210 years to the day and time after the Great War . Prior to this , there is a brief period of gameplay during the pre - War era showing the player living with their spouse and child . As revealed in the trailer on June 3 , 2015 , the setting takes place in Boston , Massachusetts . Famous local landmarks like the Paul Revere Monument , the USS " Constitution " , as well as the Massachusetts State House with its unique Golden Dome are included in the game world . Other notable present - day locations that make an appearance in the game are Scollay Square , Bunker Hill memorial , and Fenway Park , which is renamed Diamond City . The events of " Fallout 4 " occur in 2287 ; a decade after " Fallout 3 " and six years after " " . Vault 111 is in the northwest corner of the game map . The Sole Survivor starts the post - war adventure wearing the Vault 111 jumpsuit . The trailer featured a player character carrying a laser musket , meeting the dog companion Dogmeat and starting on a road leading away from the camera , a motif seen in various previous Fallout installments . Vault 111 is also near Sanctuary Hills , the residential area where the Sole Survivor lived before the war . This is most likely the first location that the player comes across after emerging from the Vault . The protagonist ' s household robot , Codsworth , still resides there . Sanctuary Hills is also one of the player - built settlement sites . The setting also includes mountains , coastal regions , the outskirts of the city and the downtown Boston area . A large and still inhospitable nuclear blast site is to the southwest . The starting area in the northwest contains low level enemies and is relatively safe , but the enemies get progressively tougher towards the southeast area of the map . The game features just over 111 , 000 lines of dialogue , more than all of the dialogue in " Fallout 3 " and " The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim " combined . Gameplay . The gameplay is largely similar to that of " Fallout 3 " and " " , with the ability to switch from first to third - person view . Additional features include a split - piece armor system ( reminiscent of the armor system in " The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind " ) , base - building , a dynamic dialogue system , an in - depth crafting system that makes use of every lootable object in the game as a source of raw material and more . Enemies such as mole rats , mirelurks , raiders , super mutants , deathclaws , and ghouls return to the series . The player character , the Sole Survivor , accesses the in - game menus through a Pip - Boy to manage statistics , maps , data , and items . Players can also find game cartridges with retro themed mini - games which can be played on the Pip - Boy . Another returning gameplay feature is the Vault - Tec Assisted Targeting System ( V . A . T . S . ) , which can play a critical part in combat . While using V . A . T . S , real - time combat is slowed down , and action is played out from varying camera angles in a computer graphics version of " bullet time . " Attacking in V . A . T . S . costs action points , limiting the number of actions available at a time , and the player can target specific body areas for attacks to inflict specific injuries ; headshots can be used for quick kills or blinding , legs can be targeted to slow enemies ' movements , and opponents can be disarmed by shooting at their weapons . A new equipment system allows a wide variety of upgrades and customization for weapons and armor . Unlike the previous two " Fallout " games , weapons and armor do not deteriorate with use and no longer require constant maintenance . A new feature to the series is the ability to build settlements . Within the boundaries of a settlement , players can scrap objects and structures for resources and use them to build their own structures , including housing , vegetable gardens , defenses , stores , and crafting stations . Each settlement can also connect to others by Brahmin caravan , which then share resources . Towns can be powered with electricity , using a dynamic power line system , as well as equipped with water pumps and crops / gardens to keep a steady income of food and drink . Merchants and non - player characters can inhabit player towns and help keep the settlements running as a community . Players can build various defenses around their settlements , such as turrets , guard towers , and traps , to defend the settlements from raids and attacks . Skills have been removed , replaced with a 7x10 perk chart . At each level - up , the player can acquire a new perk , each with prerequisites based on SPECIAL attributes and level , and most have multiple tiers . A consequence of the new advancement system is that there is no hard level cap , allowing players to experience a little more freedom when it comes to exploring and combat . The player may continue playing even after they have finished all of the main quests , a feature returning from " Broken Steel " , which allows players to experience the aftermath of their decisions . There are plenty of side quests to pursue , many of which can also be experienced after the main story ends . Development . Initially , in 2004 , Bethesda Softworks licensed from Interplay Entertainment the rights to create and publish three " Fallout " games ( " Fallout 3 " , " " and " Fallout 4 " ) . Later , in 2007 , Bethesda purchased the entire franchise , and Interplay licensed back from Bethesda the rights to a " Fallout " MMORPG . The legal dispute is now over , with Bethesda Softworks and its in - house development studio retaining the rights to all of the " Fallout " franchise , including an MMO . In 2009 , Bethesda ' s Pete Hines said , " The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own " Fallout " is that we clearly intended to make more than one . " He also added , " This is not something we ' re going to do once and then go away and never do it again . When that will be or how long that will be God only knows , but we acquired it specifically because we wanted to own it and develop it and work on it like we do with " The Elder Scrolls " . " Development began right after " Fallout 3 " s release , in 2008 . The game had minor development due to Skyrim being developed at the same time . After Skyrim was released in 2011 , " Fallout 4 " became the primary project for Bethesda . Release date . In August 2010 , Todd Howard revealed in an interview with Eurogamer that Bethesda was working on two projects ; one had been in development for two years ( beginning after " Fallout 3 " was released ) , and the other was still in pre - production . It is now known that the title farther along in development was " The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim " . Fallout 4 is now known to be the second title . On January 9 , 2013 , the voice actor behind Three Dog ( Erik Todd Dellums ) was given permission by Bethesda to hint towards his appearance soon . On his Twitter account , he stated , " To all my # Fallout3 and # ThreeDog fans : There may be more of the Dog coming ! Fingers crossed ! " However , in July of the same year , Dellums tweeted that the game he is working on is not being produced by Bethesda Softworks , therefore it was not the anticipated new " Fallout " title . On April 15 , 2013 , Bethesda Game Studios announced on Bethblog that they had completed all new content for " Skyrim " and were moving the studio ' s attention to an as of yet unknown title that had previously been in pre - production since 2010 . Although Bethesda Softworks did announce " The Evil Within " during the same week , this is being developed by another studio and will have no direct impact on whatever project Bethesda Game Studios is currently working on . On February 18 2014 Todd Howard was interviewed on " Rock , Paper , Shotgun " and said that a new game announcement would be very far away . " We don ’ t [ have a timeframe for our next game announcement ] , " he said , " but I think it ’ s gonna be a while . " He is forever positive and says " PC is resurgent , " enthused Howard . " Skyrim did better than we ' ve ever done on PC by a large , large number . And that ' s where the mods are . That feeds the game for a long time . And it ' s exciting that the new consoles are very PC - like . That opens up avenues for us going forward to do things that we ' ve wanted to do in the past . There are kind of random ideas we ' re working on right now , and it ' s like , " Wow , I think there ' s potential here to do some really cool stuff . " On June 2 , 2015 , a countdown timer was set on Bethesda ' s Fallout website expiring on June 3 at 10 : 00 AM EDT . On June 3 , 2015 , seconds before 10 : 00 AM EDT , the Fallout 4 trailer was released on YouTube . The Fallout website , seconds after 10 : 00 AM EDT also debuted in full Fallout 4 style including a working teaser phone number , previously used during the " Fallout 3 " release . Bethesda ' s first ever E3 showcase took place on June 14 , 2015 , at 7 PM PST . The E3 showcase was streamed on YouTube and Twitch . Bethesda revealed gameplay footage including combat , a refined VATS system , a new crafting system , concept art , and a release date , which was confirmed to be November 10 , 2015 . A major new feature shown during the press conference was the ability to craft and deconstruct settlements . Fallout 4 was successfully released on November 10 , 2015 , having been shipped 12 million copies to meet day one demand . Products . Pip - Boy Edition . The Pip - Boy edition of " Fallout 4 " features : a wearable Pip - Boy that can , according to a Forbes article , hold the iPhone 6 , iPhone 5 / 5s , iPhone 4 / 4s , Samsung Galaxy S4 , the Samsung Galaxy S5 and many other smartphones using foam inserts . a Pip - Boy pocket guide , a Vault - Tec perk poster , a RobCo Industries stand ( for your Pip - Boy ) , a capsule case , and the game in a collectible metal case . Fallout 4 Nuke Pack . The " Fallout 4 " Nuke Pack features : a Fallout 4 lunchbox , a 37x10 " Fallout 4 Print , a Vault Boy mini bobblehead , and the game in a collectible metal case . The Nuke Pack is sold exclusively in Australia and New Zealand , distributed by EB Games . Fallout 4 Mighty Bundle . The " Fallout 4 " Mighty Bundle features : a 100 - page hardcover " Fallout 4 " Franchise Book " . . . detailing in words and hi - res imagery the history of Fallout over the years " , a Fallout Vault Boy Pop ! Vinyl figure , and a copy of the game . Game of the Year Edition . " Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition " is set to be released on September 26 , 2017 for PC , PS4 and Xbox One ; this edition includes all 6 main add - ons . To celebrate the Game of the Year Edition , Bethesda will release a limited quantity of Fallout 4 G . O . T . Y . Pip - Boy collector editions , exclusively available in North America at select retailers . The Pip - Boy Edition includes Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition and will retail for $ 99 . 99 USD , and will also release on September 26 . Mod support . " Fallout 4 " is the first Fallout game to have native mod support for consoles . During E3 2015 , at the Xbox Conference , Todd Howard went on stage to tell the audience that the Xbox One will offer mod support following the release of the Creation Kit for PC , which is available for download as of April 26 , 2016 . The Xbox One mods support was released on May 31 , and support for PlayStation 4 was due sometime in June but was delayed , and as of September 9 , 2016 , mods on the PlayStation 4 were canceled . However , Bethesda and Sony later came to an agreement and allowed mods to release after " The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim Special Edition " is released , however they would be limited to using assets already found within the game files . On August 28 , 2017 , Bethesda Game Studios inaugurated paid mods through the Creation Club . Content available on the Creation Club is announced to be fully compatible with the main game , official add - ons and achievements . Downloadable content . Bethesda had confirmed there was DLC coming starting early 2016 , as well as smaller updates along the same lines as Skyrim has seen . A season pass for all add - ons to come can be bought at a price of $ 30 USD , €29 . 99 Euro , which will allow you to download the DLC free of charge , if the season pass was purchased before March 1st 2016 . If it was purchased after this date , the price on Steam is €49 . 99 Euro . The confirmed DLC includes Automatron , Wasteland Workshop , Far Harbor , Contraptions Workshop , Vault - Tec Workshop and Nuka - World .