A Fallout 3 fan believes that Bethesda could be hinting at a long-awaited remaster, but could it simply be smoke without fire?

The Fallout series has always been one of the most beloved RPGs since its inception in 1997, before Bethesda Softworks acquired its license. Instantly, fans were charmed by its futuristic yet retro post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with all sorts of humans and mutations that want to kill you just for blinking.

The first game in the series that was released under the Bethesda umbrella was Fallout 3 in 2008 on PC, PlayStation and Xbox 360, which went from an isometric perspective to fully 3D, giving the players the choice of first-person and third-person perspectives.

Recently, there have been rumours making the social media rounds that Fallout 3 will be officially remastered, and with the possibility of improved visuals, performance and gameplay tweaks, it’s exciting news for fans of the series. That rumour is yet to be confirmed by Bethesda.

However, one fan of the series believes that Bethesda could be teasing the long-awaited remaster following a recent update in the multiplayer spin-off, Fallout 76.

“I noticed something happening within Fallout 76’s Atom shop. The new monthly reward is the Nuka-Cola fountain, and this week they added the classic Nuka-Cola vending machine as a mystery machine,” said Devin1613, while sharing comparison images from Fallout 3 and Fallout 76.

“Both of these models use the old style of Nuka-Cola design. It’s the same machine as the old games, and the fountain uses the old bottle, while Fallout 4 and later uses the rocket-shaped bottles,” they continued.

“After poking around a bit in Fallout 3, I noticed that the fountain is the same as the bottle plant in Fallout 3. So my theory is this, Bethesda is remaking Fallout 3 and is leaking small models into the Atom shop in Fallout 76 before the remake gets announced.”

To be fair to Devin1613, this logic is quite sound. After all, why would Bethesda use these assets from a game released nearly 17 years ago?

That being said, it’s worth keeping in mind that Bethesda could be using these assets because they were there to be used and the developers didn’t want or have the time to create something new in a short space of time.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more in the coming months but if Bethesda was to remake or remaster Fallout 3, it would be huge news for fans. The original version of Fallout 3 is available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription.