The lead writer on what many fans consider the best Fallout game has aimed a four-word shot at developers Bethesda. The studio have been accused of neglecting the franchise and a New Vegas writer claims Bethesda “doesn’t understand” the series’ roots.

Chris Avellone, the co-founder of Fallout: New Vegas’ developer Obsidian Entertainment, is often outspoken on the franchise. But in a new post on X, formerly Twitter, he claimed that Bethesda also “arguably doesn’t care” about Fallout. He went further – slamming the studio’s entries as “colourful, shallow theme parks.”

Fallout finds itself in a peculiar place currently. The much-loved series is experiencing a resurgence of popularity thanks to the second season of its television adaptation.

Prime Video’s production has brought new eyes to the Fallout world, and it continues to perform admirably. Season Two is still being broadcast and receiving positive reviews from critics.

However, when it comes to video games, the franchise seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Fallout 76, the most recent main instalment, had a rough start when it was released in November 2018.

Critics and gamers were quick to point out game-breaking glitches, an outdated graphics engine and a lack of clear direction, problems that marred its debut.

In the years following, Bethesda has invested considerable effort into revamping the experience. A consistent flow of updates introduced human NPCs, new questlines and comprehensive bug fixes, transforming Fallout 76 into something much more akin to what fans had anticipated at launch

As a result, questions have started to arise about whether the Fallout games franchise might be nearing a point of no return, with Avellone criticising Bethesda for not giving it enough focus.

Avellone, who also contributed to Fallout 2, expressed his opinions on X after fans voiced concerns over several lore alterations in Amazon Prime’s TV adaptation, reports the Mirror.

“I don’t think Bethesda hates Fallout – they just don’t fully understand its roots and arguably don’t care” he said. “They own the franchise and want to do their own spin on Fallout and make that the norm.”

Avellone, who departed Obsidian in 2015, continued by describing Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 as “colourful, shallow theme parks”, whilst making an exception for DLC expansions he considered more compelling, including Far Harbor, Point Lookout and The Pitt.

“It’s not that I hate Bethesda,” Avellone said. “There are things they do well, like open-world exploration, and things they do badly, such as telling linear stories in open worlds and understanding how to use the Speech skill. But every developer has their pros and cons.”

For the moment, fans look set for an extended wait before the next mainline instalment. Fallout 5 remains several years away, with Bethesda presently concentrating on the development of The Elder Scrolls 6.