Fallout: Vault 13 is a long-in-development mod designed to recreate the original post-apocalyptic RPG using Fallout 4. An expansive demo was released just a few months ago, but the fans behind the ambitious project say it’s now been canceled due to life changes among its volunteer team as well as general “burnout.”
Bethesda’s sprawling RPGs are no stranger to fan attempts to make wild mods out of them. Similar to Skyblivion, a project aimed at remaking The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion using Skyrim, Vault 13 was aimed at translating the original isometric, non-open-world Fallout into a modern Bethesda RPG.
The publisher has made clear it’s not working on a remaster or remake itself anytime soon, so fans took it upon themselves to reimagine the classic with all the bells and whistles of the most recent numbered entry in the franchise. Earlier this year, a bit of this dream was even playable.
But according to the latest status update from the team behind it, Fallout: Vault 13 is officially mothballed. “Vault 13 was suspended due to a combination of factors, including burnout, difficulty in recruiting and retaining team members with niche skills, and personal life changes among core team members,” read a statement on their Discord via PC Gamer.
While it might be easy to suspect that Bethesda was in some way to blame—the publisher has announced its own Fallout anniversary showcase for October 23—the modders on Vault 13 say that’s not the case. “There was no infighting or cease and desist from Bethesda,” they said. “The decision was made to prioritize the well-being of project members.”
While Fallout 1 getting an unofficial remake anytime soon is no longer in the cards, Fallout 2 still has a shot. Project Arroyo, a Fallout 2 remake mod which, like Vault 13, is also using Fallout 4 as its foundation, apparently has 100 developers working on it, with plans to eventually bring it to Steam. In fact, The Gamer reports that some of the modders on Vault 13 have actually moved over to Arroyo now, which shares assets and can still benefit from some of the work already accomplished on the sister project.
While big mod projects like this can sometimes seem like a lot of smoke and mirrors, with cool trailers and lofty promises never backed up by an actual finished release, Fallout: London, which added the UK capital to Fallout 4 in a massive, story-based expansion, released earlier this year and blew some Fallout fans away. Hopefully, Project Arroyo does the same. And if anyone else decides they want to pick up the mantle of Vault 13 someday, the team is releasing their work so others can build on it.