Timeline — fallout

For a list of contrasting historical events, see Divergence.
For a list of character birthdates, see birthdates.

What follows are timelines of all known events in the Fallout universe. They have been split into various eras and by canonicity.

Background

The Fallout world is not our own. It is set in a universe that diverged, but shares many historical milestones prior to the events of World War II:^{[Non-game 1]}^{[Non-game 2]} While it takes place in the future, it is not our future, but one reflecting a traditional 1950s-style science fiction "world of tomorrow."^{[Non-game 3]}

This timeline is only for the chronological sequence of all events in the Fallout world, as seen or mentioned in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and the Fallout TV series, as well as supplementary materials like the Fallout Bible and all official Fallout game guides. For the sake of clarity, they have been split into different periods.

Canon timeline

By era

By chronological year

Year(s)	Game	Location
2102 - 2105	Fallout 76	Appalachia
2161 - 2162	Fallout	Southern California
2197 - 2198	Fallout Tactics	Midwest
2241 - 2242	Fallout 2	Northern California
2277 - 2278	Fallout 3	Capital Wasteland
2281	Fallout: New Vegas	Mojave Wasteland
2287	Fallout 4	The Commonwealth
2296	Fallout TV series season 1	Greater Los Angeles area
2296	Fallout TV series season 2	Mojave Wasteland

Other timelines

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game timeline - Consists of events mentioned in Fallout: The Roleplaying Game, a Fallout-licensed property from Modiphius Entertainment, currently classified as a dependent source on this wiki.
Non-canon timeline - Consists of all events deemed non-canon to the main series.

Notes

Upon Fallout 76's launch, the year displayed in-game on the Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI was set to 2102. It has been moved forward on three occasions: to 2103 with the Wastelanders update, to 2104 with the Steel Reign update, and to 2105 with the Boardwalk Paradise update.
- In March 2026, Fallout 76 lead producer Bill LaCoste stated on the Bethesda Game Studios official Discord server that the game's timeline had advanced to 2107. However, as of The Backwoods update, the Pip-Boy date remains set to 2105 in-game. LaCoste said that the development team would look at advancing the in-game year again at some point in the future.^{[Non-game 4]}
- LaCoste also gave estimations for what the timeline of the game's updates may look like. Skyline Valley was placed in 2106 and Gleaming Depths was placed in 2107.^{[Non-game 4]} However, this contradicts the Vault 63 meteorology sector terminal entries, which use the year 2105 when dating choices made during the Skyline Valley quest The Eye of the Storm.^[1] Furthermore, in-game sources indicate that the events of Milepost Zero (released after Skyline Valley) also occurred in 2105.^[2]^[3]
In Fallout 76, Professor Greebly postulates the existence of multiple timelines.^[4]

References

Non-game

↑ The Art of Fallout 4, p. 22: "BOSTON Much of modern-day Boston's skyline consists of buildings that were constructed well after Fallout's timeline diverged from our own. The taller structures that make the city recognizable are too contemporary in their designs. That gave us a blank slate to work with in terms of designing our version of a city of tomorrow. The older historical aspects of the city were retained for authenticity, but we wanted to layer them with some futuristic architecture, as this is a type of environment that hasn't been explored yet in the Fallout universe. As you can see in these early concepts, we explored some pretty far-out ideas for just how built up and evolved our version of Boston would be. We ended up with a more balanced approach—something that felt different but was still a grounded and relatable metropolis."
↑ Bethesda Softworks v Behaviour Interactive: "The FALLOUT franchise of video games draws gamers into alternate history, diverging from existing reality shortly following WWII. The various FALLOUT video games largely take place in the years following the destruction of the earth as people begin to emerge from their underground vaults into the nuclear wasteland."
↑ Leonard Boyarsky Developer Profile: "As Art Director, I was responsible for the look and mood of the game (as far as visuals were concerned). I came up with the idea of the "future of the fifties" setting, and had to convince everyone that that was the way to go. I also came up with the idea/design for the "Vault Boy" and the "cards" (as I called them) showing him doing all the different things in humorous ways. By the way, he's not the Pip Boy, the Pip Boy is the little guy on your Pip Boy interface. The Vault Boy was supposed to evoke the feel of Monopoly cards, and the Pip Boy was based on the Bob's Big Boy mascot."
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Bill LaCoste on Bethesda Game Studios' official Discord server

[5] Vault 63 meteorology sector terminal entries; Hawksbill weather control terminal, Activation Logs

[6] Surveying report

[7] Big Bend Tunnel terminal entries; Vinny Costa's terminal, Southern Routes

[8] Professor Greebley's press release

[1] The Art of Fallout 4, p. 22: "BOSTON Much of modern-day Boston's skyline consists of buildings that were constructed well after Fallout's timeline diverged from our own. The taller structures that make the city recognizable are too contemporary in their designs. That gave us a blank slate to work with in terms of designing our version of a city of tomorrow. The older historical aspects of the city were retained for authenticity, but we wanted to layer them with some futuristic architecture, as this is a type of environment that hasn't been explored yet in the Fallout universe. As you can see in these early concepts, we explored some pretty far-out ideas for just how built up and evolved our version of Boston would be. We ended up with a more balanced approach—something that felt different but was still a grounded and relatable metropolis."

[2] Bethesda Softworks v Behaviour Interactive: "The FALLOUT franchise of video games draws gamers into alternate history, diverging from existing reality shortly following WWII. The various FALLOUT video games largely take place in the years following the destruction of the earth as people begin to emerge from their underground vaults into the nuclear wasteland."

[3] Leonard Boyarsky Developer Profile: "As Art Director, I was responsible for the look and mood of the game (as far as visuals were concerned). I came up with the idea of the "future of the fifties" setting, and had to convince everyone that that was the way to go. I also came up with the idea/design for the "Vault Boy" and the "cards" (as I called them) showing him doing all the different things in humorous ways. By the way, he's not the Pip Boy, the Pip Boy is the little guy on your Pip Boy interface. The Vault Boy was supposed to evoke the feel of Monopoly cards, and the Pip Boy was based on the Bob's Big Boy mascot."

[76Timeline-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Bill LaCoste on Bethesda Game Studios' official Discord server

[Non-game 1]

[Non-game 2]

[Non-game 3]

[Non-game 4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]