The Fallout TV show was confirmed to be a new, canon story in the post-apocalyptic universe long before it even released. After it went live on April 10, fans were worried it might have erased one crucial faction—but luckily it didn’t.
The faction we learn most about in the Fallout show is the Brotherhood of Steel, since it’s where one of the main characters, Maximus, is from. At one point in the story, we’re also introduced to the New California Republic, which seems like it’s almost extinct. In the latest interview with IGN, though, Bethesda’s CEO Todd Howard explained the fate of the faction. Beware, as more spoilers follow.
In the show, we’re told NCR’s first capital, the Shady Sands, was destroyed, and there are almost no remnants of the faction until episode eight. There, we find out Moldaver, who kidnapped Lucy’s father in the first episode, is actually a leader of the NCR in the area. But, Moldaver and the rest of her associates get killed in the finale. This made fans worry the show brings about the NCR’s demise, but that’s not how Howard sees things.
“One of the takes we always have is to approach things very locally when we’re doing Fallout. […] We always take this view of ‘communication is difficult.’ And look, if you look at the background, the NCR, it’s a wide-ranging sort of organization and group across not just California but other places. This show focuses on this period of time, and this group here, and that’s what we can say right now, but I don’t think you’ve heard the last of NCR,” Todd said.
The NCR itself dates back to the first entry in the Fallout franchise, as it’s founded by Aradesh, who seeks aid from the Vault Dweller, the protagonist of the game.
Those who’ve played Fallout: New Vegas, which takes place 15 years prior to the events in the show, shouldn’t be surprised to see the NCR in such a state. Numerous characters in New Vegas describe how the faction is spread too thin, and essentially is on the brink of collapse if things continue. Hopefully we’ll see other parts of the NCR in season two, which seems to be headed to New Vegas and the Mojave Wasteland, where the faction was present in FNV.
