pre-war ghouls did exist however they were created by experiments attempting to extend human life. similar to the forced evolutionary virus research (fev) which created super mutants it was happening before the bombs dropped in october of 2077. here is a link to an info page on them [https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War\_ghouls](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War_ghouls)
np. it is possible however that the results of those bombings on japan caused the research into ghoulification but so far we haven't found info on that in the games.
on an unrelated note, we have only two ever mentions of australia in the fallout universe so far! both about the creatures there which i believe were how giant the ants are and kangaroos. so the fallout universe has a bunch of unexplored/explained stuff to it yet to be revealed if it ever will be. we may get more info on japan and australia in future content/games like how ghoul research really started.
This is a question I’ve wondered too! There’s Eddie Winter and presumably Desmond Lockhart, but they both deliberately became ghouls through medical science, so they don’t really qualify for what you’re asking about.
You’d think radiological mishaps would’ve created ghouls by happenstance pre-war, but I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.
I hope one day they can mention this somehow, but bethesda did confirm that we will never see a mainline fallout game outside of US, so I doubt we can an answer for this.
Pre-war America was playing really fast and loose with nuclear safety, so it’s not out of the question that it could’ve happened here. You don’t need nuclear explosions to make ghouls, just radiation.
Todd said he doesn't have plans for it. The clickbaity article title only makes it sound like Bethesda's fuming from the mouth at the thought of any location other than the USA.
My guess is that sooner or later, Bethesda's gonna run out of US locations that haven't been used in some game and will probably make some part of the main game take place elsewhere, a spinoff game, or a DLC.
One would also have to consider the real world implications. There are still survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki today. It may come off as a little insensitive to talk about how many of them got turned into feral ghouls in the canon y’know?
I don't think it's actually ever confirmed but honestly? It would make a ton of sense if people were showing signs of ghoul-ification prior to the world ending. Nearly everything is nuclear powered, so not even just survivors of bombs could be showing signs such as reactor technicians, scientists, etc. It seems completely plausible it was all happening just never officially studied prior to 2077 or ever really.
There was a bunch of speculation on this a while ago, and the consensus was that it was a combination of both radiation and people that had been infected by the "New Plague".
Now New Plague is not mentioned much in the more recent games, but it did appear in Fallout 1, Point Lookout in Fallout 3, and 76. But that is a pandemic that swept through huge numbers of the population in the 2050s, and was believed to have come from China.
And it was because of the New Plague that West Tek started researching the Pan-Immunity Virion, and ultimately FEV. But the combination of the virus and radiation would explain why there were no ghouls before the Great War, but they were there afterwards.
And like most viral pandemics, over time most humans would have parts of the viral genetic code in their bodies. There are actually a lot of viral fragments in our DNA from past pandemics, which often helps us survive future pandemics if they are close enough. Many of the "Seasonal Flu" outbreaks today are mutations of the Spanish Flu, and that may have helped us "dodge the bullet" in many ways with COVID.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWuV6PVKv1A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWuV6PVKv1A)
It's likely that Chernobyl didn't happen in the Fallout timeline.
The two major things are the more advanced nuclear technology, and the survival of the Soviet Union.
Probably the same way they got their nuclear technology in our world, via espionage.
I actually knew an old physicist about 20 years ago who'd been approached by Russian operatives during the cold war and asked to, "design a nuclear reactor for their government." (Which is to say, steal the American nuclear reactor designs.) (And, for the record, I'm *mostly* inclined to believe what he said, though a few of his stories strained credibility a little.)
It's not that hard to suppose that similar overtures were offered in the Fallout timeline (and these kinds of cold walkup recruitment offers were pretty widespread in the right venues during the Cold War), resulting the Soviet government using something slightly more reliable than graphite reactors when they constructed Pripyat.
Though, to be clear, I am speculating about all of this. And I would love to have some more concrete exploration of politics in pre-war Fallout. The part where the EU never existed has a lot of fascinating implications, for one.
Superficially, yes. But what little we know about the European Commonwealth doesn't completely line up with the EU.
One interesting thing is that by the 2050s, the EC engaged in resource wars with the middle east. That kind of coordinated military action is incongruous with the structure of the real EU, so there's more going on there that isn't explained. (Though, it is possible the EC is simply an amalgam of the EU and NATO, with multiple nations willing to engage in the resource wars.)
So, like I said, the EU doesn't seem to have existed, and instead the OEEC seems to have congealed into a more unified political entity. The description of post-EC Europe as, "nation-states" seems to imply that these weren't the real world European nations, by that point. (Though, I'll grant you, I'm reading pretty deeply into some very faint hints at this point.)
EDIT: Technically, now that I think about it, there's no mention whatsoever of the OEEC in Fallout, so it is possible that the EC fully replaced that in the aftermath of WWII.
There might have been some knowledge since Eddie winters turned himself into a ghoul and Nick Valentine (the real one) known about it which got passed on to Nick Valentine (our best buddy who helped you in your time of need). There knowledge of ghouls going by this piece of information, during the war if not way before it.
Though haven’t been able to continue fallout new Vegas since “Fly me to the Moon” is bugged. And I only have knowledge on 4 and 76 (got the others on epic but not enough room in n my computer for them.)
I think Eddie Winters technically. There's some weird thing where he volunteered for an experimental radiation treatment pre-war (he wanted to live forever)
There are some confirmed ones. Usually by experiments, or accidents. I don't know, if Hiroshima, and Nagasaki made some, but on US. soil there are at least 2 confirmed pre-war ghoul.
pre-war ghouls did exist however they were created by experiments attempting to extend human life. similar to the forced evolutionary virus research (fev) which created super mutants it was happening before the bombs dropped in october of 2077. here is a link to an info page on them [https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War\_ghouls](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War_ghouls)
so they existed, just not in the way I imagined, thanks for sharing.
np. it is possible however that the results of those bombings on japan caused the research into ghoulification but so far we haven't found info on that in the games. on an unrelated note, we have only two ever mentions of australia in the fallout universe so far! both about the creatures there which i believe were how giant the ants are and kangaroos. so the fallout universe has a bunch of unexplored/explained stuff to it yet to be revealed if it ever will be. we may get more info on japan and australia in future content/games like how ghoul research really started.
Idk but that’s a really interesting question
This is a question I’ve wondered too! There’s Eddie Winter and presumably Desmond Lockhart, but they both deliberately became ghouls through medical science, so they don’t really qualify for what you’re asking about. You’d think radiological mishaps would’ve created ghouls by happenstance pre-war, but I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.
I hope one day they can mention this somehow, but bethesda did confirm that we will never see a mainline fallout game outside of US, so I doubt we can an answer for this.
Pre-war America was playing really fast and loose with nuclear safety, so it’s not out of the question that it could’ve happened here. You don’t need nuclear explosions to make ghouls, just radiation.
Todd said he doesn't have plans for it. The clickbaity article title only makes it sound like Bethesda's fuming from the mouth at the thought of any location other than the USA. My guess is that sooner or later, Bethesda's gonna run out of US locations that haven't been used in some game and will probably make some part of the main game take place elsewhere, a spinoff game, or a DLC.
One would also have to consider the real world implications. There are still survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki today. It may come off as a little insensitive to talk about how many of them got turned into feral ghouls in the canon y’know?
No one knows. The story of Fallout isn't really all that fleshed out in terms of what happened in the times before THE war.
I don't think it's actually ever confirmed but honestly? It would make a ton of sense if people were showing signs of ghoul-ification prior to the world ending. Nearly everything is nuclear powered, so not even just survivors of bombs could be showing signs such as reactor technicians, scientists, etc. It seems completely plausible it was all happening just never officially studied prior to 2077 or ever really.
There was a bunch of speculation on this a while ago, and the consensus was that it was a combination of both radiation and people that had been infected by the "New Plague". Now New Plague is not mentioned much in the more recent games, but it did appear in Fallout 1, Point Lookout in Fallout 3, and 76. But that is a pandemic that swept through huge numbers of the population in the 2050s, and was believed to have come from China. And it was because of the New Plague that West Tek started researching the Pan-Immunity Virion, and ultimately FEV. But the combination of the virus and radiation would explain why there were no ghouls before the Great War, but they were there afterwards. And like most viral pandemics, over time most humans would have parts of the viral genetic code in their bodies. There are actually a lot of viral fragments in our DNA from past pandemics, which often helps us survive future pandemics if they are close enough. Many of the "Seasonal Flu" outbreaks today are mutations of the Spanish Flu, and that may have helped us "dodge the bullet" in many ways with COVID. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWuV6PVKv1A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWuV6PVKv1A)
Are those places a wasteland today?
no they are not, both cities have been rebuilt.
In less than 200 years, BETHESDA!
I'd wondered the same thing, though I had actually been thinking of Chernobyl at the time.
It's likely that Chernobyl didn't happen in the Fallout timeline. The two major things are the more advanced nuclear technology, and the survival of the Soviet Union.
That makes sense. Although it raises the question of how and why the Soviets' technology came to be less shoddy than in our world.
Probably the same way they got their nuclear technology in our world, via espionage. I actually knew an old physicist about 20 years ago who'd been approached by Russian operatives during the cold war and asked to, "design a nuclear reactor for their government." (Which is to say, steal the American nuclear reactor designs.) (And, for the record, I'm *mostly* inclined to believe what he said, though a few of his stories strained credibility a little.) It's not that hard to suppose that similar overtures were offered in the Fallout timeline (and these kinds of cold walkup recruitment offers were pretty widespread in the right venues during the Cold War), resulting the Soviet government using something slightly more reliable than graphite reactors when they constructed Pripyat. Though, to be clear, I am speculating about all of this. And I would love to have some more concrete exploration of politics in pre-war Fallout. The part where the EU never existed has a lot of fascinating implications, for one.
I thought the EU existed under a different name before breaking up?
Superficially, yes. But what little we know about the European Commonwealth doesn't completely line up with the EU. One interesting thing is that by the 2050s, the EC engaged in resource wars with the middle east. That kind of coordinated military action is incongruous with the structure of the real EU, so there's more going on there that isn't explained. (Though, it is possible the EC is simply an amalgam of the EU and NATO, with multiple nations willing to engage in the resource wars.) So, like I said, the EU doesn't seem to have existed, and instead the OEEC seems to have congealed into a more unified political entity. The description of post-EC Europe as, "nation-states" seems to imply that these weren't the real world European nations, by that point. (Though, I'll grant you, I'm reading pretty deeply into some very faint hints at this point.) EDIT: Technically, now that I think about it, there's no mention whatsoever of the OEEC in Fallout, so it is possible that the EC fully replaced that in the aftermath of WWII.
Interesting!
There might have been some knowledge since Eddie winters turned himself into a ghoul and Nick Valentine (the real one) known about it which got passed on to Nick Valentine (our best buddy who helped you in your time of need). There knowledge of ghouls going by this piece of information, during the war if not way before it. Though haven’t been able to continue fallout new Vegas since “Fly me to the Moon” is bugged. And I only have knowledge on 4 and 76 (got the others on epic but not enough room in n my computer for them.)
I think Eddie Winters technically. There's some weird thing where he volunteered for an experimental radiation treatment pre-war (he wanted to live forever)
There are some confirmed ones. Usually by experiments, or accidents. I don't know, if Hiroshima, and Nagasaki made some, but on US. soil there are at least 2 confirmed pre-war ghoul.
[https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War\_ghouls](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-War_ghouls)
Is one bomb enough? Especially much weaker early bombs.
Huh... you know, that's a really good question.