Ambitious Vault 13 mod remaking Fallout 1 in Fallout 4 engine has been cancelled

Fallout: Vault 13 – the ambitious mod attempting to remake Fallout 1 in the Fallout 4 engine – has ceased active development in order to “prioritise the well-being of project members”, but it’ll have the chance to live on when a build is shared with the community soon.

Fallout: Vault 13, named after the first Vault players experience in the Fallout series, has been in the works since 2021, but it started to make headlines following the release of a demo in August this year. It was to feature five open-world areas, a “completely overhauled levelling system”, voice acting, plus some “tasteful, lore-friendly additions” to complement the full roster of original Fallout 1 quests and characters.

But despite the excitement generated by Fallout: Vault 13’s demo, its development team has now called time on the project “due to a combination of factors”. In a statement shared on social media, project founder and co-lead Culinwino explained, “After much careful thought and deliberation, we have decided to officially suspend development on Fallout: Vault 1. This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is the right step at this stage of our journey”.

In a follow-up post, Culinwino cited “burnout” and “personal life changes among core team members” as some of the reasons behind the project’s cancellation. “This was an ambitious project being made with limited resources by volunteers”, they noted, adding the decision to end development was made in order “to prioritise the well-being of project members”. Culinwino stressed “there was no infighting or cease-and-desist from Bethesda.”

However, while Fallout: Vault 13 will no longer be developed by its present team, the entire project as it currently exists will be released as a build on Nexus Mods “in the coming weeks”. Culinwino says this will “allow the community to experience” the work completed so far and “serve as a foundation for anyone interested in continuing or building upon it in the future.” Additionally, the previously released demo will remain available to download.

“While this may mark the end of active development, it’s not the end of our journey together,” the statement concluded. “Down the line, we are planning to release a retrospective that will take a look back at everything we’ve accomplished with Fallout: Vault 13, celebrating the highs, the lessons learned, and the passion that drove this project… Thank you again for being a part of this incredible experience. Your support means the world to us, and I look forward to seeing where the community takes Fallout: Vault 13 from here”.

Although Vault 13 has, for the time being at least, reached the end of its journey, 2024 remains a banner year for Fallout fans. Fallout 4’s long-in-the-works next-gen update finally arrive this April (albeit to a mixed reception), while Amazon’s acclaimed Fallout TV series has helped bring the series to a whole new audience. And in the modding world, the hugely ambitious Fallout: London – a brand-new fan-developed game built in Fallout 4 – has been a massive success.