Used to identify the game, unaltered. Fallout Shelter wordmark, trademark of its owner, from the publisher's Steam store listing

Fallout Shelter

Catalogue entry · not reviewed · store data read 30 August 2026

Fallout Shelter puts you in control of a state-of-the-art underground Vault from Vault-Tec. Build the perfect Vault, keep your Dwellers happy, and protect them from the dangers of the Wasteland.

Simulation Survival

Player score

8.8/10

82,585 reviews

Released: 2015
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Platforms: 2 systems
Critics: 63
Steam Deck: verified
Download: 2 GB

We have not written a full review of this game.This is a catalogue entry: everything below comes from a source we can link, checked on a stated date. There is no score and no verdict here, because we only publish those after a reviewer has played the game and written it up properly. Our team may well have played this one. Until someone writes the review, we are not going to imply a verdict we have not put our name to.

What is Fallout Shelter?

Fallout Shelter puts you in control of a state-of-the-art underground Vault from Vault-Tec. Build the perfect Vault, keep your Dwellers happy, and protect them from the dangers of the Wasteland.

Description as published by the developer on its own store page, read 30 August 2026. It is marketing copy, not our assessment.

The record

Catalogue facts
First released	14 June 2015
Developer	Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher	Bethesda Softworks
Platforms	Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck
Genres	Simulation, Survival
Languages	6 supported

Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q20116199, seeded 30 August 2026. Store data from Steam, read 30 August 2026.

How was Fallout Shelter received?

Players88%positive of 82,585 · Very Positive

Metacritic63critic aggregate, PC

Achievements35on Steam

Method. Player figures are Steam's own totals for the PC version, read 30 August 2026. The Metacritic score is the one Steam publishes on its store page and can lag the site itself. Metacritic page. Neither is our opinion. We have not published a review of this game.

Accessibility

3 declared features

Method. Features the publisher declared on its own store page. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

What does it support?

Technical support
Capability	Support
Controller	full support
Cloud saves	Yes
Cross-platform play	No
Mod support	No official workshop
Online play	Single-player only
In-game purchases	Yes
Steam Deck	verified
Download size	2 GB
Add-on content	None listed
Age gate	None

Method. Read from the publisher's Steam listing on 30 August 2026. Describes the PC version. Console versions differ.

What does it cost?

Free

Steam price in US dollars, read 30 August 2026. Prices move hourly and vary by region. Check the current price.

Problems players report

We read the 300 most recent negative Steam reviews of Fallout Shelter on 30 August 2026 and counted what they mention. These are complaints, not confirmed defects: we have not reproduced any of them, and a review describes one person's machine. What the counts tell you is which problems more than one person ran into.

Crashes and freezes33 of 300 (11%)
Latest update has broken the game can't do random wasteland quests - it now causes a crash and then your vault becomes inaccessible on reloading the game.
Steam review, 4 March 2026 · 1,544 hours played · 10 readers marked it helpful
The game crashes, and I can't access the vault.
Steam review, 5 March 2026 · 35 hours played · 6 readers marked it helpful
Monetisation inside the game19 of 300 (6%)
to rub salt to the wound, a pop up to buy Lunchboxes (the games form of loot boxes) pops up.
Steam review, 5 March 2026 · 163 hours played · 5 readers marked it helpful
Gonna need a refund for my battle pass.
Steam review, 5 March 2026 · 116 hours played · 3 readers marked it helpful
Lost progress or broken saves10 of 300 (3%)
Game also never made a backup of my save so its really just gone.
Steam review, 15 July 2026 · 3 hours played · 61 readers marked it helpful
dumped 5 hours of my precious time into a game that ultimately led to a corrupt save due to the recent update.
Steam review, 5 March 2026 · 15 hours played · 2 readers marked it helpful

A further 15 reviews call the game buggy or broken without saying how, which is why they are counted separately rather than assigned to a theme. Counted by keyword across review text, so a review discussing two problems is counted under both. Read the reviews yourself.

Games like Fallout Shelter

24 games overlap with Fallout Shelter on the tags Steam players applied to it, on genre, and on theme. The closest are Kingdom: Classic, Frostpunk and Jurassic World Evolution.

All 24 games like Fallout Shelter

Common questions about Fallout Shelter

What platforms is Fallout Shelter on?

Fallout Shelter is available on Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck. It first released in 2015.

Is Fallout Shelter free?

Yes. Fallout Shelter is free to download on Steam. It carries in-game purchases.

Do players recommend Fallout Shelter?

88% of 82,585 Steam reviews are positive, which Steam rates Very Positive. That is players rating it, not our review. We have not published a review of this game.

What is the Metacritic score for Fallout Shelter?

63 out of 100 for the PC version, as published on the game's own Steam store page. Steam can lag Metacritic by a few points.

Does Fallout Shelter work on Steam Deck?

Valve rates Fallout Shelter as verified on the Steam Deck, from its own testing. That means it works out of the box with no configuration.

How big is the Fallout Shelter download?

2 GB on PC, from the storage requirement on its Steam listing. Console versions differ.