Fallout 3 developer and Fallout property owner Bethesda has filed a lawsuit against former owner Interplay to clarify that Interplay no longer holds any rights to the franchise.

Bethesda, which purchased the post-apocalyptic property from Interplay for $5.75 million, says Interplay never sought the necessary approval to re-release the original Fallout games at retail or via digital distribution, and no longer holds the Fallout MMO license.

Bethesda further claims that Interplay's unapproved re-releases of Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel though the "Fallout Trilogy," "Fallout Collection" and "Saga Fallout" bundles are "confusingly similar to Fallout 3... Read more

Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media has just announced its acquisition of well-known video game developer id Software (Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D).

"id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack," vowed ZeniMax. "No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games. All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles...at the studio."

Founded as an independent game developer in 1991, id Software is currently working on the post-apocalyptic shooter RAGE (PC, PS3, 360) and the long-awaited Doom 4.

"Our intention is to make sure id Software will continue to do what they do best--make AAA games," said ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman. "Our role will be to provide publisher support through Bethesda Softworks and give id Software the resources it... Read more

Two more downloadable expansions for Fallout 3 will arrive over the summer, developer Bethesda announced today, along with word that, beginning in late June, the PlayStation 3 will start to receive all of the Fallout 3 downloadable DLC announced thus far.

"Operation: Anchorage will be released for PS3 in late June, followed by the release of The Pitt and Broken Steel 4-6 weeks apart," said Bethesda. "Release dates will be forthcoming." Previously, that DLC was exclusive to the PC and Xbox 360.

As for the two new downloadable episodes, here's what we know:

• Point Lookout (Late June for PC and Xbox 360 - 800 MS Points / $10)
  Explore a massive new swampland area filled with new quests and content.
• Mothership Zeta (Late July for PC and Xbox 360 - 800 MS Points... Read more

Aspiring publisher Bethesda has revealed that it's planning to announce "a really big Wii game this year" through a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, though it is unknown if the studio will be creating the game internally or simply publishing it.

"We've got a couple of other things in the pipeline, and it's a format we're really looking at with the right approach," explained Bethesda Europe managing director Sean Brennan. "We're not going to establish a new range and call if 'My Girly Game Range' or whatever these other companies are doing, it's so me-too and boring."

Brennan was responding to a question about the market for "mature" Wii games, noting a belief that it exists and stating that "it's all about finding out how big that [market] is."

While Bethesda is perhaps best known for the internally-developed Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls games, the company has been expanding its publishing operations with titles such as A2M's WET, Rebellion's Rogue Warrior, Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas, and an untitled genre-breaking shooter from Quake Wars veterans Splash Damage.

Bethesda Europe managing director Sean Brennan has let slip the very first meager details of its project with Splash Damage, in an interview with gamesindustry.biz.

Brennan describes the title--whose name has yet to be revealed--from Quake Wars developer Splash Damage as "a first-person shooter" that's also "a genre-breaker."

This is the most we have heard about Splash Damage's game since the partnership was announced back in March 2008. Brennan explains they have been tight-lipped as "there are so many innovative features in there we don't want to reveal them too soon."

What we do know is that Fable II lead designer Richard Ham is the project's creative director, and that traditionally PC-centric Splash Damage is warming up to consoles.

Bethesda and Splash Damage will reveal more of their mystery game at E3 come June.

During its press event in London last week, Bethesda not only cleared up the status of its long in-development project Rogue Warrior, but also announced it would be publishing A2M's action shooter WET and licensing a series of Elder Scrolls novels.

Rogue Warrior, a shooter based on the exploits of Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko, was originally announced in 2006 as a Zombie Studios project. The game has since been scrapped, and the core project turned over to Alien vs. Predator developer Rebellion.

"Suffice it to say, we were not happy with what the direction of that project was," said Bethesda marketing VP Pete Hines during the event.

Zombie's ambitious multiplayer plans for Rogue Warrior have been scaled back to deathmatch and team DM, while the singleplayer component is now a one-man affair that focuses more on Marcinko's unique personality. This focus is marked... Read more

Earlier today, Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks announced "Fallout: New Vegas," a new title in the Fallout series of post-nuclear RPGs.

Not a true sequel to Fallout 3, New Vegas is instead a spin-off RPG in the same style under development at Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian was founded by former members of Black Isle, the original developers of the Fallout franchise, making the project a unique partnership between Fallout veterans and the current series stewards.

Following the press event in London, I caught up with Bethesda marketing VP Pete Hines to talk a bit about the project and other Fallout-related items.

Shack: When did Bethesda start thinking about a Fallout spin-off?

Pete Hines: It's something that we've discussed at night for a while, and just had talked about doing. And we said, well, if we're going to do this, we... Read more

At a press event in the United Kingdom, Fallout 3 developer Bethesda today announced a new externally-developed entry in the post-apocalyptic role-playing series.

Titled Fallout New Vegas, it's being developed by Obsidian Entertainment (Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II) with PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions planed for a simultaneous launch in 2010.

New Vegas will be an RPG in the style of Fallout 3, Bethesda noted, but the company did not confirm if it uses the same engine. The studio also stressed that it approached Obsidian to make a new Fallout entry, not the other way around.

"It is not a sequel to Fallout 3," said Bethesda marketing VP Pete Hines. "It was just a great opportunity we thought to work with some guys who very clearly know Fallout--Feargus [Urquhart] and those guys were there in the early days of Fallout... Read more

Two trademarks filings spotted by Dwell On It show Bethesda Softworks has recently filed trademarks for Fallout covering use in television and movies, via Joystiq.

The trademarks, filed February 5 by the Fallout 3 developer and property owner, cover the Fallout name in relation to "Entertainment services in the nature of an on-going television program" and "motion picture films about a post-nuclear apocalyptic world."

Bethesda appears to be tying up the Fallout property's loose ends for grand future plans, including planning to pull the plug on Interplay's Fallout MMO.

Whether anything will come of these trademarks remains to be seen but the prospect of a Fallout movie is enticing--even if, given the track record of video game movies, it would end up set in 2009 New York City, where hero Pip Vaulta must disarm a dirty bomb.

Interplay's annual performance report reveals that Bethesda plans to cancel the agreement allowing Interplay to make its Fallout MMO, No Mutants Allowed noticed.

When Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks purchased the Fallout property from Interplay in April 2007, Interplay retained the right to make a Fallout MMO--on condition it raise at least $30 million in funding and enter scale development within 2 years.

Bethesda evidently does not believe Interplay has met these conditions, as the "Legal Proceedings" section of Interplay's Securities and Exchange Commission report shows:

Interplay recently received notice that Bethesda Softworks, LLC ("Bethesda") intends to terminate the trademark license agreement between Bethesda and Interplay which was entered into... Read more

Bethesda is offering 50% off all Oblivion's Xbox 360 downloadable content to celebrate the third anniversary of its first DLC release--with one notable exception.

As a delightful April Fools' Day escapade, the infamous and much-maligned Horse Armor Pack will cost twice as much. If you hated the idea before, you'll love it now.

The discounts will run for the next week and range from a teensy 40 Microsoft Points off the Spell Tomes pack to a giant 1200 Point saving on the Shivering Isles expansion.

Today's Game Developers Conference panel on "Evolving Game Design: Today and Tomorrow, East and West Game Design" wasn't just the folks behind Fallout 3, No More Heroes, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus talking about poop and new projects.

Moderated by Mark MacDonald, the all-star panel saw Shadow of the Colossus/Ico creator Fumito Ueda (Team Ico), No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda (Grasshopper Manufacture), and Fallout 3 developer Emil Pagliarulo (Bethesda) discuss storytelling, the way games change during development, and yes, cold medicine.

Rather than summarize any further, we've transcribed the notable bits. Be warned, however, that there are spoilers for some of the above games... Read more

During a joint panel at GDC 2009, the developers of Shadow of Colossus, Fallout 3 and No More Heroes all spoke of their new projects.

Mark MacDonald moderated the panel between Shadow of the Colossus/Ico creator Fumito Ueda, No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda, and Fallout 3 developer Emil Pagliarulo.

After opening up the panel for questions, Suda took the chance to ask one for the crowd: what games are Ueda and Pagliarulo working on next?... Read more

Oblivion and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda is branching out to cover a new platform for the company in the iPhone, according to word from a New York Comic Con panel held today.

During a joint panel with BioShock designer Ken Levine, Fallout 3 lead designer Todd Howard told the crowd that the company is currently working on an iPhone game, according to panel attendee N'Gai Croal of Newsweek.

Bethesda has previously released several cell phone games, including a mobile version of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Following the completion of Fable II, lead designer Richard Ham has left Lionhead to join Enemy Territory: Quake Wars veteran Splash Damage as creative director.

In his new role, Ham will lead the design team working on the upcoming mystery project that's being created in partnership with Fallout 3 and Oblivion developer Bethesda.

In today's announcement, Splash Damage described the secret game as a "new AAA multi-platform title" handled by Splash Damage's "wealth of talent," including the "senior, lead, and directorial staff behind hits such as Mass Effect, Rainbow Six Vegas, Heavenly Sword, and Burnout Paradise."

In addition to his time at Lionhead, Ham has previously worked at Nintendo and Sony Computer Entertainment, where he was creative lead for Syphon Filter games on the original PlayStation.

Bethesda Softworks today announced that it has established a long-term development partnership with Splash Damage, the studio responsible for the class-based multiplayer shooters Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

No details were provided on the next project from Splash Damage, though Bethesda promises more details will arrive "in the coming months."

The announcement marks the latest business move from Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls series developer Bethesda, which has been expanding its publishing efforts.

"We are extremely impressed with Splash Damage and the quality titles they produce," said Bethesda Softworks president Vlatko Andonov. "They are highly creative and innovative, and have demonstrated a high level of dedication to their projects."

Following February's opening of a European publishing branch, Bethesda Softworks owner ZeniMax Media today announced the establishment of its Asian office.

Much like the company's publishing operations in North America and Europe, ZeniMax Asia K.K. will oversee the Asian production and distribution of Bethesda titles, such as Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) and Star Trek: Conquest (PS2, Wii), under the Bethesda Softworks brand.

It will also publish Japanese editions of games from other developers, including the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of Rockstar's Bully and 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K8 on PS2, PS3, X360, and PSP.

Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard unveiled numerous details of the development of the company's upcoming title Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) on the Official Xbox Magazine podcast.

Howard claims that the game itself is finished and has moved into the polish phase, but the team is adding several new elements to the game as they move forward.

"Being that we are Bethesda, everything gets a bit big, so as of last week we're over 200 endings. That's not an exaggeration," Howard said.

Small changes and additions to the ending, Howard explained, are multiplied by other factors influenced by the player's choices and decisions in the game, leading to over 200 possible ending combinations. Howard also clarified the game's... Read more

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks, today announced the formation of its first European office, ZeniMax Europe.

The new branch will focus primarily on publishing titles within the European market under the Bethesda Softworks brand. Previous, ZeniMax had partnered with other companies, including Ubisoft and 2K Games, to publish its titles in Europe. However, ZeniMax noted its intent to continue working "with strategic European distribution partners."

"We want to establish direct relationships with retailers and distributors throughout Europe and the UK as we bring exciting titles like Fallout 3 and Rogue Warrior to gamers worldwide," said ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman. "This is an important step for us as we look to expand our presence in markets outside of North America."

Helmed by industry Sean Brennan, ZeniMax Europe is already up and running in its London office. One of its first publishing efforts will be Bethesda's post-apocalyptic action-RPG Fallout 3, which hits North America and Europe in PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 iterations this fall.

Australian game site Gameplayer has posted a five page Fallout 3 preview, asking Bethesda's Pete Hines what we can expect from the RPG sequel.