Prime Video’s “Fallout” TV show has ignited a sizeable wave of interest in the Fallout video games. Of course, these post-apocalyptic RPGs were best-sellers long before Amazon adapted the franchise for it’s streaming service, but there are plenty of new players, as well as returning wasteland veterans, looking to dive into a Fallout game after binging the show.
Currently playable on modern hardware are the four mainline entries in the Fallout franchise, alongside a further four spin-off titles. However, not every Fallout game is playable on every platform, so if you’re wondering which ones are available on PS5, Xbox Series X, PC and Nintendo Switch, we’re on hand with a full guide to playing Fallout in 2024, showing you which games in the franchise are available and where.
Plus, to celebrate the show’s launch on Prime Video, various Fallout games have been discounted or added to services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. Even better, a couple are even being given away for free to Amazon Prime subscribers via Prime Gaming.
So, if the excellent “Fallout” TV show has you eager to roam the wasteland yourself, here’s every Fallout game that you can play on current generation hardware right now…
Fallout games available on Xbox
- Fallout 3
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Fallout Shelter
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
After Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media (parent company of Fallout stewards Bethesda) in 2021, Xbox became the console home of Fallout, and as it stands every single “modern” Fallout game is available on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, as well as Xbox One.
Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas originally launched on Xbox 360, but both are playable with a frame rate boost on current Xbox hardware via the console’s awesome backwards compatibility features. Plus, every single Fallout game listed above is included on Xbox Game Pass. If you’re a Fallout fan that plays exclusively on console, Xbox is the best place to be.
If you’re the type that would rather own your games than play them via a subscription service (a sentiment I agree with), the Xbox Store is currently running a massive Fallout sale that includes Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas for $2 apiece and Fallout 4 for just $4. And if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can get Fallout 76 for free thanks to Prime Gaming.
Fallout games available on PlayStation
- Fallout Shelter
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
Fallout players on PS5 (or PS4) face slightly more limited options. The latest entries in the franchise 2015’s Fallout 4 and 2018’s Fallout 76 are both playable on PS5, and the former is set to receive a much-requested next-gen update later this month that will boost performance and pack a smattering of fresh content. Both games are currently included in the PlayStation Plus library at the Extra or Premium subscription tiers.
Unfortunately, you cannot natively play Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas on PS5 or PS4, but if you’re determined to explore the ruins of Washington or the neon-light New Vegas strip on a PlayStation console, these two classic RPGs are included in the PlayStation Plus Premium streaming library. However, as they can only be streamed, expect uneven performance and potential input delay (depending on your internet speed). This is a last-resort way of playing.
Bargain hunters playing on PS5 will be pleased to hear that both Fallout 4 (and its various DLC expansions) and Fallout 76 are included in the PlayStation Store Spring Sale. Right now Fallout 4 is $4 and Fallout 76 is $7 until April 26. Currency for the free-to-play Fallout Shelter is also reduced in this annual sales event .
Fallout games available on PC
- Fallout
- Fallout 2
- Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
- Fallout 3
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Fallout Shelter
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
If you want to play pretty much every Fallout game ever made, then PC is the platform for you. Not only can PC players enjoy all the “modern” Fallout games developed under the watch of Bethesda, but the first two games, and the Tactics spin-off, created by developer Interplay Entertainment are playable on PC. And they’ve held up well.
Accessing Fallout games on PC is super simple as well, every single Fallout game (Bar Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel) is currently playable on PC Game Pass. Or if you’d rather buy them a la carte, the entire franchise is purchasable on Steam, GOG or the Xbox Store.
Right now, the Fallout Franchise Bundle which includes Fallout 1 through Fallout 4 is on sale for $55 on Steam, that’s a 77% discount off the regular list price of $244.
PC gamers with an Amazon Prime account can also score free copies of Fallout 76 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel via Prime Gaming for a limited time. Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are also available to stream via Amazon Luna.
Fallout games available on Nintendo Switch
Bethesda ported its 2011 RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to the Nintendo Switch shortly after the hybrid console launched in 2017, but despite many requests over the year, it’s yet to bring any mainline Fallout games to the platform. This means that options for Nintendo Switch owners looking to dive into the Fallout universe are extremely limited with just a single choice.
Fallout Shelter, a 2015 time-waster that originally launched on mobile, is available on Nintendo Switch. This management game casts you as a vault overseer and tasks you with keeping your dweller’s needs fulfilled while also expanding your shelter and fending off various outside threats. It’s a surprisingly engrossing experience, and while it’s no substitute for a proper Fallout game, it does feel more at home on the portable Switch than PS5 or Xbox.