Fallout and potentially other Bethesda games are coming to Zen Pinball

By Gabe Gurwin November 16, 2016

Fallout 4 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter have a little too much death and destruction, you will soon be able to play a slightly more whimsical entry in the series. Zen Studios announced Bethesda Pinball, a virtual pinball set that puts Fallout and the Vault Boy front and center.

The announcement doesn’t make mention of other specific Bethesda franchises that could be included in Bethesda Pinball, but it seems likely that Id Software classics like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, as well as Bethesda’s other major RPG series The Elder Scrolls, could be featured. Eurogamer also speculates that Arkane’s Dishonored series could be included and that the set will be an expansion pack for existing games like Zen Pinball 2 rather than a stand-alone experience.

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Current tables for Zen Pinball platforms include Plants vs. Zombies, Street Fighter II, and even Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Zen Studios also collaborated with Valve to release Portal Pinball last year, which included favorite characters like Chell and Wheatley, complete with the silly, sarcastic banter that made the two original games so popular. The company even worked with Telltale Games to create a set based on its popular The Walking Dead adaptation.

Should Bethesda choose to dig even further into its back catalog, the publisher could help to create some entertaining — if self-deprecating — pinball sets. Brink, though a high-profile critical and commercial failure, had a bright color scheme and quick gameplay that would translate well to a pinball board. Rogue Warrior, meanwhile, is one of the worst games created, but its Mickey Rourke-rapped, expletive-filled end credits sequence is one of the great gifts to humanity.

No date or other concrete details have been offered for Bethesda Pinball, but Zen Studios said to “stay tuned for more info” in its announcement tweet.

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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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