What Year Does Each Fallout Game Take Place? 2102 to 2287

The Fallout games are set between 2102 and 2287, and the game pages measure their dates from the Great War of 23 October 2077. Fallout 76 starts in 2102 and Fallout 4 is set in 2287, with the other games falling in between. For the full list with locations, see the Fallout timeline. (Timeline, Fallout 76, Fallout 4)

What year does Fallout 76 take place?#

Fallout 76 is set in 2102. Its story starts on Reclamation Day, 23 October 2102, 25 years after the Great War, and the game is a prequel to the Fallout series. The game's page says the story sits before that of any previous game. (Fallout 76)

The year on screen has moved since launch. The Fallout 76 page says the starting year went to 2103 with the Wastelanders update, 2104 with Steel Reign and 2105 with Expeditions: Atlantic City. The Timeline page credits the 2105 jump to Boardwalk Paradise instead, so the two wiki pages disagree on which update did it. (Fallout 76, Timeline)

What year does Fallout take place?#

The original Fallout is set in 2161, in Southern California, 84 years after the Great War. Its page also places it 59 years after Fallout 76 and 80 years before Fallout 2. (Fallout)

Across the series, the games run from 2102 to 2287, and the Prime Video series is dated to 2296.

What year does Fallout 2 take place?#

Fallout 2 is set in 2241, roughly 80 years after the original Fallout. Its hero, the Chosen One, is the grandchild of the first game's protagonist, and the quest for a G.E.C.K. starts on 25 July 2241. (Fallout 2)

What year does Fallout 4 start?#

Fallout 4 is set in 2287, in the Commonwealth around Boston. The page places it ten years after Fallout 3 and six years after New Vegas. The game opens with a prologue on the morning of 23 October 2077, the day of the Great War, when the Sole Survivor's family reaches Vault 111 and is frozen there. The main story starts in 2287, when the Sole Survivor wakes for good, leaves the vault and hears from Codsworth that it's been 210 years. Shaun was taken from the vault in 2227, 60 years before that. The Timeline page dates the exit to 23 October 2287, though the Sole Survivor page gives 10 October. (Fallout 4, Fallout 4 plot, Sole Survivor, Timeline)

My read is that the 210-year gap matters more than the 2287 date. The whole story hangs on a character waking up into a world they didn't see coming, and the year alone doesn't convey that. For the plot itself, see the Fallout 4 story guide.

When did Fallout happen?#

The Great War happened on Saturday, 23 October 2077. It was a nuclear exchange between the United States and China during the Sino-American War, and the Fallout page says it lasted less than two hours. Fallout 76 opens in 2102, 25 years later. More on the war itself is on the Great War page. (Fallout, Great War)

The timeline in order#

1. 2102: Fallout 76, in Appalachia, where the player is a dweller of Vault 76.
2. 2161: Fallout, in Southern California.
3. 2197: Fallout Tactics, in the Midwest.
4. 2241: Fallout 2, in Northern California.
5. 2277: Fallout 3, in the Capital Wasteland.
6. 2281: Fallout: New Vegas, in the Mojave Wasteland.
7. 2287: Fallout 4, in the Commonwealth.
8. 2296: The Prime Video series, with season 1 in the Greater Los Angeles area and season 2 in the Mojave Wasteland.

The Fallout 4 page dates the TV series to 2296 and places it nine years after the game. (Timeline, Fallout 4)

Canon Notes#

The wiki disagrees with itself about the 2105 update, and a developer's comment adds a 2107. In March 2026, lead producer Bill LaCoste said on the Bethesda Game Studios Discord that the timeline had advanced to 2107. The Timeline page says the Pip-Boy still reads 2105 as of The Backwoods update. Vault 63 terminal entries date choices from the Skyline Valley quest to 2105, which the wiki says contradicts LaCoste's estimate that Skyline Valley sits in 2106. (Fallout 76, Timeline)

My read is that the Pip-Boy's 2105 is the year to quote for Fallout 76 today. A player can see it in the game, and a Discord remark is not a date anyone can check on screen. For the plot, see the Fallout 76 story guide.