The franchise’s original creators were ultimately unable to secure the intellectual property rights.
While modern gamers instinctively associate Fallout with Bethesda, the post-apocalyptic series was originally the brainchild of Interplay. In a detailed retrospective with Game Informer, Interplay founder Brian Fargo revisited the circumstances that led to the franchise changing hands.
By the mid-2000s, Interplay was grappling with severe financial instability. A mounting legal crisis eventually “compelled Interplay to liquidate the entirety of the Fallout rights to Bethesda” to satisfy its obligations.
According to Fargo, Fallout was “the only truly marketable asset they had left to sell.” However, Bethesda wasn’t the only party interested; the architects of the original game also made a play for their creation.
Leonard Boyarsky, Fallout’s original art director, had left Interplay to establish Troika Games alongside Tim Cain and Jason Anderson—the studio famous for cult classics like Arcanum and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Before Bethesda finalized the deal, Boyarsky and his team attempted to buy the rights back.
Boyarsky explained that while they had managed to find financial backers willing to fund the acquisition, they were never given a seat at the bargaining table:
“We had potential investors lined up, but they didn’t even give us the chance to put an offer on the table.”
He further reflected on the situation:
“It probably wouldn’t have mattered if they heard us out or not, because they would have likely just laughed us off.”
Records indicate that Bethesda ultimately acquired the Fallout intellectual property for a sum of approximately $5.75 million.
Source: iXBT.games