Out of no where, a new Fallout game was announced before E3 the other day. Fallout 76, and while details are still murky, let’s break down what we know so far. In the Fallout universe, humanity was given the chance to start again after nuclear war thanks to Vault-Tec. Their vault program created several nuclear shelters that could be lived in for over a hundred years before needing to open to the outside. These shelters, from Vault 13 out west to the mysterious Vault 76, all served a variety of purposes.
Sadly, many of these vaults were also home to experiments intended on testing the effects of certain drugs, conditions, and new technology. Vaults like Vault 111 from Fallout 4 were created to test Cryogenic freezing over long periods of time, while those like Vault 77, where one man was left with a box of puppets, were testing the human mind in extreme circumstances.
But, with every well designed experiment, there will always be a control group, to compare the outcomes of the bizarre experiments against a regular lot of people.
Vault 76, the vault connected to Bethesda’s new title Fallout 76, is one of these control vaults. It was one of 17 control vaults among a still unknown number of Vault-Tec vaults. Each control vault was given up to 500 residents (half of the maximum sustainable capacity) and was designed to open 20 years after a nuclear war.
Vault 76 specifically was announced in 2076, seven years after its completion in 2069, and one year before the Great War. It was created to honor the tricentennial of the United States, and also coincided with announcements that Vault-Tec was expanding their program to create more and more vaults.
While we don’t know a lot about life in Vault 76 from past games, since it is only mentioned in short logs or brief conversation, we can glean a lot about it from the Fallout 76 teaser trailer, which you can watch right here.
Right from the beginning, the pip boy playing music has its date set to Oct. 27, 2102. This is exactly 25 years and four days after the nuclear war that devastated the world. This fits into the window in which the vault should be opening. While it isn’t exactly 20 years, Vault 76’s opening could have been delayed if the local radiation levels were still too high, or if the Overseer deemed it necessary.
After panning over some board games, the camera moves to a TV, which shows someone talking about how Vault 76 will have to rebuild after the Great War, which becomes important later.
As we continue through the trailer, the vault atrium looks like the aftermath of a large party. There is a banner up where the Overseer’s office traditionally is that says “Celebrate Reclamation Day!”
This, combined with the TV scene makes it seem that the day Vault 76 opened was a celebration, or will be anyway. We don’t know exactly when Fallout 76 will take place on this timeline of events. They must have seen it as a great duty to go out into the world and rebuild civilization after the war. This fits with their importance as the tricentennial celebration vault. Their home was created to honor the founding of the United States, and now they will go forth and reclaim the land, to restore it to its original greatness. Hopefully anyway.
What do you want to learn about Vault 76 in Bethesda’s upcoming title? Are you excited for Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference? Talk about it in the comments below!
This post was originally written by Tyler Krasnai.
