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

A number of older Interplay titles were added to the Steam store today, including the Black Isle classics Fallout and Fallout 2.

In addition to the Fallout collection--which packs in Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics for $20--Xatrix's shooter Kingpin and Shiny's RTS Sacrifice are also available, though the games are generally cheaper on GOG.

Does the announcement of Fallout: New Vegas have you hankering for a visit to the old wastelands? Good Old Games has your back, offering 20% off a tasty Fallout bundle.

Your $14.37 gets you a shiny new download of PC role-playing classics Fallout and Fallout 2 by Black Isle Studios--from whose ashes rose New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment--plus Micro Forte's more strategy-oriented Fallout Tactics (PC).

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

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.

Jason Anderson, one of the lead designers on the original Fallout, is developing a new RPG for developer inXile, according to a Gamasutra report.

Anderson had previously been working at Interplay on Project V13, rumored to be the company's Fallout-themed MMO.

"It was a very hard decision to leave Project V13," said Anderson to Gamasutra. "I loved the project, and we spent so much time on it, and it was not an easy decision to make. But in talking with Brian, it made it a lot easier. We really clicked, and saw eye to eye on what we wanted to see happen to RPGs."

The unannounced RPG project is in the early stages, according to Anderson, who is serving as creative director of the development team.

"I want to get back to RPGs that are very story-driven and character-driven," added Anderson. "Personally, I've never gotten out of [single-player] RPGs. There was the short stint working on the MMO for the past year, but that was pretty much it. I've always been about RPGs and RPG design. Even before Interplay I was a big RPG player."

inXile was created by Interplay founder Brian Fargo in 2002. The company released The Bard's Tale (PC, PS2, Xbox) in 2004, and is planning to ship Heist (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) this summer.

Just in time for the run-up to Bethesda's Fallout 3, GameTap has added both of Black Isle's original Fallout RPGs to its lineup. To celebrate, the company is offering the first Fallout in its free subscription rotation.

Hailed as one of the better PC games of all time, Fallout is a post-apocalyptic romp through a ruined American West, featuring a cast of memorable characters and an uncompromising tactical combat system.

As RockPaperShotgun points out, the soon-to-launch Good Old Games service will also offer the Fallout titles for permanent purchase in a DRM-free digital format.

Black Isle Studios' post-apocalyptic RPGs Fallout and Fallout 2 will be among the many long-lost PC titles soon re-released by Good Old Games, a new online venture from The Witcher (PC) developer CD Projekt.

Located at GOG.com and slated to launch in September, the online store will sell DRM-free digital downloads of old-school PC games at $5.99 or $9.99 a pop. A closed public beta will go live on August 1, with the site currently accepting beta applications.

"Our main goal is to try and deliver the best games of all time for PC," marketing VP Tom Ohle explained to Shacknews during an in-depth interview.

The site will initially carry titles from publishers Interplay and Codemasters, including the previously-mentioned Fallout series, MDK 1 and 2, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Freespace 1 and 2, Sacrifice, Descent 1-3 and Kingpin: Life of Crime.

While a full list of the store's launch offerings has yet to be finalized, other games slated to appear by September include Shattered Steel, Jagged Alliance 2, Redneck Rampage, Operation: Flashpoint, Colin McRae, and TOCA Race Driver 3.

Each game sports full compatibility with Windows XP and Vista, and... Read more