What is the Fallout 4 canon ending, and how does TV confirm it?
Eagle-eyed fans have helped to narrow down Fallout 4's potential endings.
With Fallout 4 having multiple endings, it's unclear what is considered the canon choice - but the Fallout TV show has confirmed at least a couple of them could be.
It was no doubt a painful decision to make, as players and developers alike may feel cheated out of their preferred way to end the game.
This will surely come about once more with season 2, which will feature an iconic location from a previous game as teased by the series's ending.
But if all of this leaves you feeling Fallout is slipping through your fingers, you can wrangle back control of the wasteland by checking out the best Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 76 mods or even Fallout: New Vegas mods.
Goodness knows how Bethesda will handle this all by the time Fallout 5 rolls around, but until then, let's see what's going on in the here and now.
Warning: Our Geiger counter shows there are major radioactive spoilers ahead for both Fallout 4 and the Fallout TV show.
Why are fans talking about the Fallout 4 canon ending?
Fans are talking about Fallout 4's canonical ending because of the appearance of The Prydwen, which is an airship used by The Brotherhood of Steel, in the first episode of the Fallout TV series.
A Vanity Fair article led fans to initially believe the airship was in fact the Caswennan, but upon closer inspection, the word "Prydwen" can be seen clearly in white lettering on the side of the craft as show in the post on X below.
Naturally, this has led fans to speculate about what is now considered as a canon ending for Fallout 4, as it has been confirmed that the show is set around nine years after the game in the same timeline.
Read on to find out what the presence of The Prydwen in the TV series tells us about Fallout 4.
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What is the Fallout 4 canon ending?
If the airship seen in the show is in fact The Prydwen then it means that two out of the four potential endings to Fallout 4 can now be considered canon. But what are those endings?
At the climax of the game, players are forced to make a decision and pick an allegiance. Two of the choices result in either the destruction of The Prydwen or the elimination of The Brotherhood of Steel and so the craft’s presence in the TV show would rule these two options out as being canonical.
The first potential canon outcome comes when players choose to side with The Minutemen – a choice which has several options, but one of them is to allow The Brotherhood of Steel and The Railroad to co-exist while destroying the sinister Institute. This means that in the show’s timeline, The Prydwen would still exist.
The other potential canon ending for the game is where your character chooses to side with The Brotherhood of Steel, destroying both The Institute and The Railroad. Again, this would leave The Prydwen in existence, making its presence in the show plausible.
While we cannot yet confirm which of these endings for the game is going to be considered canon going forward, it does firmly rule two options of the four out. So, it will be up to fans and sleuths to spot Easter eggs in the Fallout series going forward to narrow these options down further.
What have the Fallout developers said?
The game’s developer Bethesda has not yet commented on recent speculation around Fallout 4’s canonical ending.
However, the studio’s Design Director, Emil Pagliarulo, recently took to X to confirm the official timeline for the games, highlighting where the TV show sits in the canon.
Read more on Fallout:
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- How to get Fallout 76 free - Prime Gaming deal
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- Fallout: New Vegas explained - how will TV address it?
- Fallout London release date - latest news
- Will there be a Fallout 3 Remastered? What we know
- Fallout 3 cheats
- Fallout 5 release date speculation
- Fallout season 2 - will the TV show continue?
- Fallout 4 power armour - where to get it
- Fallout 4 trophies and achievements guide
- Hack your game of choice with Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 76 mods or Fallout: New Vegas mods
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Authors
Joshua Lamb is a freelance writer at Radio Times Gaming, covering news and guides. He is also a games journalist and critic at The Times where he reviews the latest titles, having also previously reported on events such as Gamescom and the BAFTA Game Awards.
