When Does Fallout TV Show Take Place in the Game’s Timeline?

The Fallout TV show is just off the production machine and is already making waves among gamers. Based on a faithful adaptation of the games by the same name, the show tries to bring a brand-new storyline into the overarching post-nuclear world. However, the gamers among you might be confused about the show’s timeline. After all, there are seven whole games before the series. Well, I decided to piece together the entire Fallout TV show timeline and explain it all to you. So, let’s take a look, shall we?

Spoiler Warning: This article includes spoilers for the new Fallout TV series on Prime Video, so we suggest the watch the show to avoid ruining the intended experience.

What Year Does the Fallout TV Show Take Place?

The Fallout TV show shifts between two eras throughout the entire experience. The main era, post-nuclear war, takes place in 2296, 135 years after the game Fallout 1. This is the era where Vault 33 is introduced, and the rest of the events occur. This includes Lucy leaving the vault to search for her kidnapped father, Hank.

However, the flashback timeline takes place in 2077, at the height of tension between the US and rival countries. Throughout the flashback, we get numerous details about the birth of Vault-Boy and its iconic Thumbs-up image, how Vault-Tec wants the world to engulf itself in war, and how they want to drop the nuke themselves. It also follows Cooper’s life before turning into a Ghoul, who has been alive for the last 200 years.

If we look at the game’s timeline, the Fallout TV show takes place nine years after Fallout 4. It is still set in California, around Los Angeles. And it takes place canonically way later than every game in the series.

Fallout TV Show Timeline: A Chronological Look

While the above timeline is a broad scope of things that take place, there’s more to the story. To get a better understanding, let’s break down the entire Fallout TV timeline. I did find that there is one major plot inconsistency with Shady Sands in the series.

• 2077: The Bombs drop. Fallout takes place in a retro-futuristic setting, where the world is still stuck in the 60s but somehow managed to progress, thanks to nuclear energy.
• 2102: Reclamation Day occurs in Appalachia, where people from Vault 76 rejoin the world. This is the setting for Fallout 76.
• 2142: The town of Shady Sands is formed.
• 2161: Events of Fallout 1 take place.
• 2189: The New California Republic is formed.
• 2198: Shady Sands becomes the capital of NCR.
• 2241: The events of Fallout 2 take place.
• 2277: The events of Fallout 3 happen. Consecutively, Shady Sands gets taken out by a Nuke in the TV show, as shown in a scene.
• 2281: The events of Fallout: New Vegas take place. This is where the timeline conflicts. The New California Republic, aka NCR, plays a major role in this game and is one of the two major factions. As such, if Shady Sands gets destroyed, the NCR shouldn’t exist in such a prominent power. Regardless, that is the actual timeline.
• 2287: The events of Fallout 4 and Fallout 4: Far Harbor take place.
• 2296: The events of the Fallout TV show happen.

Most of the events of the Fallout TV show take place in 2296. With that, the show has an excellent chance to become canon to the game universe. After all, it takes place years after the main games and has a self-contained storyline. Only time will tell if Fallout 5 follows the show or has its own timeline.

So, did you enjoy the Fallout TV show? What are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments below.