Fallout 4 is a weird game in the long-running RPG franchise. One the one hand, it’s arguably the best looking game in the series and its significant changes to the established Fallout formula make it more approachable for newcomers to the genre. On the other hand, many found it to be a rather watered down experience that lacked both the gameplay versatility and depth of writing that made the games great and unique in the first place. Although, with the numerous bugs and frustrating mechanics of Fallout 76, Fallout 4 remains the best Fallout experience 🌊made for the current ꦦgeneration of gaming hardware.
This unusual situation has led to players exploring and talking about Fallout 4 much more than they would otherwise. Over the course of these investigations and conversations, fans came to realize that a lot of the early fan theories they had about the game proved true. Moreover, a lot of ideas about how the base game could expand prior to the release of the Fallout 4 DLC also played out exactly like some theorists thought it would. Sure, not every wi🍌ld theory turned out to be legitimate, but there are stౠill a surprising number of theories that players cannot believe are actually true.
These 25 Fallout 4 fan🌜 theories are now canon within the game and are as surprising today as when players first proved them valid. Some of these fan theories have massive consequences for the world of the games, others are meaningful to certain characteไrs, and a few of them are just plain goofy; but they’re all true and that’s pretty amazing.
25 Returning Fallout 3 Characters
The world of the Fallout franchise is pretty expansive, with different games in the series taking place at roughly the same time, but in vastly different locations in the United States. This allows characters introduced in one game to appear in another, while also letting the games explore more of the universe. Fans thought that a good number of characters from Fallout 3 would return in Fallout 4 and they were not disappointed. Arthur Maxson leads the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4, Dr. Li reappears as an Institute scientist, and Sierra Petrovita returns in the Nuka-World DLC.
24 Elder Scrolls And Fallout Aren’t Connected
Ever since Bethesda acquired the rights to the Fallout franchise, fans have wondered if it’s possible that the Elder Scrolls franchise and the Fallout series take place on the same planet, just several millennia apart. As this theory rose, so did arguments disproving the theory. Bethesda would go onto confirm these counter-theories, and they have firmly stated that the Fallout games do not occur on Elder Scrolls’ world of Nirn. As much as some would like, dragons, mages, and gods of various moralities will never appear in the Fallout franchise.
23 You Were Going To Have A Synth Spouse
At the end of Fallout 4’s campaign, the Sole Survivor is given a synthetic version of their son Shaun, who thinks he’s a real adolescent boy. Since syn🧸th-Shaun is given to the player by the actual Shaun, who's now an elderly man and the head of the Institute, many thought that a synthetic version of the protagonist’s spouse could also appear. While this doesn’t happen in the game proper, data-mining reveals that there was a quest planned at one point that would have let the player revive their spouse as a synth companion.
22 The Return Of The Mysterious Stranger
The Mysterious Stranger is a character, or characters, in the Fallout universe that appears in each mainline Fallout game. Little is known about the character, but they aid the protagonist of each game by appearing out of thin air at times and defeating those hostile to the player. It was a pretty safe bet that the Mysterious Stranger would appear in Fallout 4, but few expected the detective character, Nick Valentine, to be borderline obsessed with uncovering the figures true identity. This was a great joke that played right into Fallout’s extensive lore.
21 The Mannequins Are Meaningless
All across the world of Fallout 4 are mannequins arranged in strange and unsettling positions. When fans first discovered this wo🌄rld-spanning trend, they quickly started developing theories about some madman running around placing the mannequins in those positions, while a small minority thought it was just the developers trying to creep players out. Those dissenters were, in fact, correct, as th🐽e makers of the game would later confirm that there is no in-universe explanation for why there are so many peculiar mannequins.
20 Trashcan Carla Is A Spy
With the Institute having such a secretive and wide-reaching effect on the Cܫommonwealth, fans speculated that a number of characters had hidden ties to the organization. These suspicions proved correct as an Institute terminal revealed that the traveling merchant Trashcan Carla is an informant helping the Institute track down runaway synths. Although this 𒆙doesn’t really affect the game all that much, this added backstory does make Carla, and the world, feel quite a bit more fleshed out than it would otherwise.
19 Nick Valentine’s Origins
Once players learned that the companion character Nick Valentine was an early model synth discarded by the Institute, they quickly tried to fill in the blanks of his mysterious backstory. The idea that there could be more characters like Nick was enticing, and eventually proved true in the Far Harbor DLC. Here players meet DiMA, another synth prototype that’s more or less Nick’s brother. Although the DLC is pretty good on its own, having Nick also venture to the island and meet wi🔥th DiMA creates some great character moments for one of the game’s best NPCs.
18 The Ghoul Whale
Another rumor that spread pretty quickly thanks to Fallout 4 NPCs, is that of the Ghoul Whale. Mentioned by a few characters, players quickly started searching the Commonwealth for an irradiated and zombified giant whale. Although they didn’t find anything, Bethesda rewarded them for their searching by adding whale bones to the shores in the Far Harbor DLC. That might not be as cool as fighting a zombie whale, but at least it’s confirmed that Ghoul Whales do exist in the Fallout universe.
17 Nuka-World Is Disney World
Once Bethesda announced Nuka-World as the last piece of DLC for Fallout 4, fans immediately started comparing the fictional theme park to the real-life Disney World. As more information about the new location came to light, these theories proved true. With areas like the Galactic Zone and Safari Adventure mimicking the Epcot Center and the Animal Kingdom respectively, it’s clear that the💝 DLC site stems from the popular, real-world amusement park. Or at least a more carbonated and irradiated version of the park.
16 There’s A Frozen Head In Nuka-World
Onc🧸e it was thoroughly established that the fictional Nuka-World drew heavy inspiration from the real-life Disney World, fans speculated that some of the urban legends surrounding the site would pop up in the game. The developers responded to this theo🌞ry pretty enthusiastically by including one of the biggest Disney World legends in the game. John-Caleb Bradberton, the creator of Nuka-Cola and a Walt Disney analog, is kept alive within a cryogenic stasis within the theme park. This mirrors the real-life rumor that Walt Disney’s body is frozen somewhere in the Disney World amusement park.