When it was first announced that Bethesda was opening Battlecry Studios in Austin, Texas, rumor of a new Fallout game immediately attached itself to the new studio. With Rich Vogel onboard and bringing his MMO experience, there was even speculation that it'd be a Fallout MMO game.
As we learned this week, however, Battlecry Studios is not working on a new Fallout game. Rather, they are developing a rather intriguing online multiplayer action combat game, Battlecry. In fact, the only other game shown at the pre-E3 event was an updated demo for The Evil Within. No new Doom. No new Fallout.
Now we know a new Doom is in the works already. Bethesda even gave out free beta codes with anyone who pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order. As for a new Fallout? Well, speaking with Pete Hines, Bethesda's VP of Marketing & PR, he didn't really confirm nor deny its existence. For all we know, Bethesda is keeping it under wraps for a surprise E3 reveal.
But for anyone who has followed Hines on Twitter, you're probably well aware of the constant criticism and backlash he receives when Bethesda doesn't do exactly what fans demand. When I asked him about the potential outrage that could follow news of Battlecry instead of Fallout, Hines didn't seem too concerned. In fact, he was actually proud of Bethesda's willingness to explore a new genre and take a chance on something new and fresh with Battlecry.
“We’re a company that has seven studios and we’re doing a lot of things that aren’t Bethesda Game Studios or Elder Scrolls or Fallout, and [Battlecry] is yet another," Hines told me. "Again, if you’re only looking for something that is Fallout, well, then it doesn’t matter what else we’re doing. I guess you’re not interested.
“I love playing [Battlecry],” he added. “We make games that we like to play. We really enjoy every time there’s a playtest for Battlecry. Afterwards, we’re walking around outside our offices and cubes, talking about who did what to whom, and did you see this."
"There’s something to be said. It's not just another MOBA, strategy game. We felt like these guys had a cool idea to do something different that kind of resonated well with us," Hines said of Battlecry. "Even when we were playing it and it had like no textures, it was still fun. I was like ‘I’d still play this today, like this, if it was out.’"
"We’re excited about what we are and not all that worried about what we’re not."
I honestly don't know if a Fallout announcement will be made at E3, but I can say that there was no inkling of it at the pre-E3 event. Then again, Doom wasn't shown either and that's a game we know is coming. So who knows. Regardless of whether or not it's actually announced, Bethesda does have some really great games on the way. Even better, they are new IPs. During a time when most companies are rebooting old franchises or simply porting last gen games to Xbox One and PS4, Bethesda is making bold, creative decisions. Battlecry is the last thing I would've expected heading into the event, but I came away very impressed with it. It's this type of excitement that E3 is all about.
