The first two games, Fallout and Fallout 2, are set in New California – on the West Coast and in the Southwest (from southern Oregon, to southern California, to western Nevada). Most of the events of the series take place in the United States. Wherever humanity survived it was under constant threat by psychotic mutants, rogue machines, vicious raiders, and all manner of hostile mutated creatures. Some fought to keep the world out, others to connect with and re-populate it. Underground, a fortunate few enjoyed the relative safety and comfort of the Vaults. Above ground, small bands fought over the crumbling remains of once great cities while mutants prowled the irradiated wastes. Even centuries after the Great War, humanity survived but struggled to do so. The world that remained was harsh and unforgiving. Although the conflict lasted only two hours, the destruction it wrought was staggering and complete: more energy was released in the early moments of the war than in all previous global conflicts combined.

On October 23, 2077, the United States, China, and other nuclear-armed countries commenced a brief but rapid exchange of nuclear weapons. Although the Fallout universe and the real world share a common timeline until about 1945, the defining moment of the Fallout universe was the Great War of 2077.

Map of the fallout world