Fallout 4 Release News Limbo: No Secret Showcase At E3, Bethesda Unwilling To Say More, Is Pete Hines Enjoying His Power Too Much?
Despite the non-stop speculation and rumors persisting around Fallout 4 and its anticipated release, recent reports have all but confirmed one thing.
There is no news on this title.
Kotaku recently put the rumor of a secret E3 showcase to bed by showing an official statement sent to them from Bethesda.
"We showed three games at E3, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Elder Scrolls Online and The Evil Within. We did not show any of our games behind closed doors."
Case closed, and it's really no fault of the studio for misleading, as they've said all along they will only announce something when it is the right time.
"We are not into annual franchises," says Pete Hines, vice president of Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax.
"We have never done that, I don't see that it is something that we are doing anytime soon. These are big games that take a long time and folks need to understand that we have a very certain way of going about things."
While fans may clamor for any hint of news or confirmation of Fallout 4, others like Metro News have pointed the obvious reasons for the studio's safeguarding.
"The usual reason is that they don't want competitors learning of their plans and coming up with a rival game, which is a genuine fear, particularly amongst console manufacturers," writes the publication in response to a fan blaming Bethesda for the lack of news.
"You'd also be surprised how late in the day some games are actually locked down in terms of what franchise, and even what genre, they're a part of. The question of budgets and release dates can be even more volatile."
Still, with Pete Hines being the most vocal amongst those within Bethesda, his regular Twitter responses and consistent quotes on anything but Fallout do not seem to be helping the situation.
For example, Hines is well known to show open discontent towards news outlets and fans alike if they should appear too eager or all-knowing about the alleged Fallout sequel.
@Pikepointzero apparently pretty much anyone can post "articles" there. Speculative garbage.
— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) June 15, 2013
@stevenala take your all caps and attitude and take a hike. Seriously. — Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) June 13, 2013
Which begs the question, is it purely the fault of Bethesda and Pete Hines' fans for such outrage towards Fallout 4's enigmatic absence so far? Or is the frustration purposefully being fueled for some sort of enjoyment?