Every Fallout game, ranked
All 6 Fallout games we hold, spanning 2009 to 2018: 6 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 928,977 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Fallout: New Vegas (GamingPickz Score 8.4), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition (2009) and follow the release-order timeline below.
The Fallout games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 6 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
6 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 6 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
6 best Fallout games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Fallout: New Vegas
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
8.4GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFallout: New Vegas at a glance Released 2010 Studio Obsidian Entertainment Player sentiment 96% positive of 261,194 Critics 84/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 96.0 on 261,194 reviews, then blends with the 84 critic aggregate, giving 8.4.
What the data supports- 96% positive across 261,194 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- 2
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
8.2GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game at a glance Released 2015 Studio Interplay Inc. Player sentiment 94% positive of 25,164 Critics 89/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 94% shrinks to 93.8 on 25,164 reviews, then blends with the 89 critic aggregate, giving 8.2.
- 3
Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
8.1GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game at a glance Released 2009 Studio Black Isle Studios Player sentiment 94% positive of 17,454 Critics 86/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 94% shrinks to 93.8 on 17,454 reviews, then blends with the 86 critic aggregate, giving 8.1.
- 4
Fallout 4
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
7.9GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFallout 4 at a glance Released 2015 Studio Bethesda Game Studios Player sentiment 81% positive of 428,604 Critics 84/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 30 GB Accessibility 5 declared features Raw 81% shrinks to 81.0 on 428,604 reviews, then blends with the 84 critic aggregate, giving 7.9.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 5
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
7.8GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFallout 3: Game of the Year Edition at a glance Released 2009 Studio Bethesda Game Studios Player sentiment 82% positive of 56,132 Critics 91/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 82% shrinks to 82.0 on 56,132 reviews, then blends with the 91 critic aggregate, giving 7.8.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
Fallout 76 at a glance Released 2018 Studio Bethesda Game Studios Player sentiment 72% positive of 140,429 Critics No aggregate Price $39.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 96 GB Accessibility 4 declared features Raw 72% shrinks to 72.0 on 140,429 reviews, giving 6.6. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
Worth checking first- Carries in-game purchases. Check what they cost before committing.
- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- Multiplayer only. There is no solo mode to fall back on.
PCPlayStation 4PlayStation 5Xbox OneXbox Series X and Series SSteam Deck
Best and worst entry
The best-received Fallout game we can score is Fallout: New Vegas at 8.4. The lowest is Fallout 76 at 6.6, a 1.8-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2009 to 2018. The later entries score lower than the earlier ones: the series has been trending down.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game at $9.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Fallout: New Vegas, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Fallout entries on Steam:
- Verified: Fallout 4
- Playable: Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, Fallout 76
Platforms across the series
Where the 6 Fallout games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 6 of 6 |
| PlayStation | 2 of 6 |
| Xbox | 2 of 6 |
The Fallout series, game by game
Every Fallout game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2009
Prepare for the Future™ With Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, experience the most acclaimed game of 2008 like never before. Create a character of your choosing and descend into an awe-inspiring, post-apocalyptic world where every minute is a fight for survival. (Steam)
Plot
The plot of Fallout 3 revolves around a water purifier at the Jefferson Memorial . Fallout 3 takes place in the year 2277, 200 years after a nuclear war that decimated most of the United States. Some survivors of the war took refuge in high-tech fallout shelters known as Vaults. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reviews Fallout 3 Fallout 3 was well received by critics. On the review aggregator website Metacritic , the Microsoft Windows version of Fallout 3 was assigned the game a weighted average critic score of 91/100, the PlayStation 3 version a 90/100, and the Xbox 360 version a 93/100. The Xbox 360 version is tied with Braid , Gears of War 2 , and Super Smash Bros. (Wikipedia)
- 2009
Fallout® 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed game that took RPG'ing out of the dungeons and into a dynamic, apocalyptic retro-future. It's been 80 long years since your ancestors trod across the wastelands. (Steam)
Plot
In 2241, the tribal community of Arroyo suffers the worst drought on record. Faced with the calamity, the village elder and daughter of the Vault Dweller tasks her child, the player, to retrieve a Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G. E. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reviews Edit on Wikidata Fallout 2 received critical acclaim, according to the review aggregator websites Metacritic and GameRankings . It was a finalist for " PC Role-Playing Game of the Year " during the AIAS ' 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , along with nominations for role-playing game of the year awards from Computer Gaming World , GameSpot , CNET Gamecenter , and IGN ; all were ultimately given to Baldur's Gate . The editors of GameSpot… (Wikipedia)
- 2010
Welcome to Vegas. New Vegas. Enjoy your stay! (Steam)
Plot
"Mr. House" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Dr. (Wikipedia)
- 2015
Fallout 4
7.9From Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, comes Fallout 4. A landmark in open-world RPG design and winner of over 200 ‘Best Of’ honors, including the DICE and BAFTA Game of the Year. (Steam)
Plot
Setting The Massachusetts Institute of Technology served as inspiration for the fictional Commonwealth Institute of Technology, which the Institute organization began from. Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, 10 years after the events of Fallout 3 and 210 years after the Sino-American War, a war between the United States and China over natural resources, which ended via a nuclear holocaust called the Great War. The setting is post-apocalyptic ,… (Wikipedia)
Characters
The player's character takes shelter in Vault 111, emerging exactly 210 years later on October 23, 2287, and assuming the name of the "Sole Survivor". There are thirteen possible companions in the story. Dogmeat , a loyal German Shepherd , is the only mandatory companion, but six others must at least be encountered: Codsworth, the Sole Survivor's robotic butler; Deacon, a Railroad agent; John Hancock, mayor of the settlement Goodneighbor; Nick Valentine… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Edit on Wikidata Fallout 4 received "generally favorable" reviews on all three platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . GameSpot s Peter Brown awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, saying " Fallout 4 is an argument for substance over style and an excellent addition to the revered open-world series. " Brown praised the "thought-provoking" narrative, "intuitive" creation tools, the large amount of content, the overall… (Wikipedia)
- 2015
You've just unearthed the classic post-apocalyptic role-playing game that revitalized the entire CRPG genre. The Fallout® SPECIAL system allows drastically different types of characters, meaningful decisions and development that puts you in complete control. Explore the devastated ruins of a golden age civilization. (Steam)
Plot
Setting On October 23, 2077, a worldwide nuclear war between the United States and China following a global conflict caused by resource shortages devastated the world and destroyed modern civilization. The events of Fallout take place nearly a century later in 2161, and follow the Vault Dweller, a human born and raised within Vault 13, one of a number of high-tech underground fallout shelters built to protect survivors. Those on the surface live off the… (Wikipedia)
Characters
The player controls the Vault Dweller, who is sent into the Wasteland to save their vault. The Vault Dweller can be customized or based on one of three pre-generated characters: Albert Cole, a negotiator and charismatic leader with a legal background; Natalia Dubrovhsky, a talented acrobat and the intelligent and resourceful granddaughter of a Russian diplomat in the pre-War Soviet consulate in Los Angeles; and Max Stone, the largest person in the Vault… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Fallout received critical acclaim, with critics considering it one of the best role-playing video games at the time. PC PowerPlay predicted that Fallout would revive the genre and thought that both casual gamers and fans of role-playing games would enjoy the game. GameSpot declared that because of the release of Fallout , gamers would not have to wait for a good role-playing game anymore. (Wikipedia)
- 2018
Fallout 76
6.6Bethesda Game Studios welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fall, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers emerge into post-nuclear America. Explore a vast wasteland in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. (Steam)
Plot
Further information: Fallout (franchise) § Setting Fallout 76 is a narrative prequel to previous Fallout games. It is set in an alternate history , and takes place in 2102, twenty-five years after a nuclear war that devastated the Earth. The player character is a resident of Vault 76, a fallout shelter that was built in West Virginia to house America's best and brightest minds. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response Reception Edit on Wikidata According to review aggregator Metacritic , the PC and PlayStation 4 versions received "mixed or average" reviews, while the Xbox One version received "generally unfavorable" reviews. The Guardian called the game "a pointless walk in the post-apocalypse" featuring "half-baked conflict and witless quests to unearth the dead". Eurogamer described the game as a "bizarre, boring, broken mess", adding that, shortly… (Wikipedia)
Fallout, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Fallout vs other series
How Fallout stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Fallout vs Dragon Age, Fallout vs DRAGON BALL, Fallout vs Just Cause, Fallout vs Mass Effect, Fallout vs Mount & Blade, Fallout vs Saints Row, Fallout vs Yakuza, Fallout vs ARK, Fallout vs Car Mechanic Simulator, Fallout vs Mafia, Fallout vs Red Faction, Fallout vs Risen, Fallout vs State of Decay, Fallout vs The Witcher, Fallout vs Torchlight, Fallout vs Watch, Fallout vs ArcheAge, Fallout vs Burnout Paradise, Fallout vs Crusader Kings, Fallout vs Divinity, Fallout vs Dragon's Dogma, Fallout vs Dungeon Siege, Fallout vs ELDEN RING, Fallout vs EverQuest, Fallout vs Gothic, Fallout vs Jurassic World Evolution, Fallout vs Kingdom Come, Fallout vs Kingdoms of Amalur, Fallout vs Marvel’s Spider-Man, Fallout vs Metal Gear, Fallout vs Middle-earth, Fallout vs Might & Magic, Fallout vs NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, Fallout vs Pathfinder, Fallout vs Prototype, Fallout vs South Park, Fallout vs Subnautica, Fallout vs The Lord of the Rings, Fallout vs The Sims, Fallout vs The Surge, Fallout vs Tom Clancy’s The Division, Fallout vs Transport Fever, Fallout vs Two Worlds, Fallout vs Universe Sandbox, Fallout vs Wasteland
Common questions
How many Fallout games are there?
We hold 6 Fallout games in the catalogue, released between 2009 and 2018. 6 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Fallout game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Fallout: New Vegas rates highest at 8.4. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Fallout games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2009 to 2018. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.