‘Fallout’ Creator Reveals He Was Ordered to Destroy Source Code That Was Later Lost

Tim Cain, the creator of the iconic Fallout video game series, recently shared a shocking revelation: he was ordered to destroy all his notes, prototypes, and source code from his time working at Interplay, the studio that originally developed Fallout.

Unfortunately, this means that no original assets or code from the game’s early development remain.

Cain made this admission during a YouTube video, explaining that after leaving Fallout‘s original developer, he was instructed to destroy everything he had worked on. “When I left Fallout, I was told ‘you have to destroy everything you have,’ and I did,” Cain said. “My entire archive. Early design notes, code for different versions, prototypes, all the GURPS code – gone.”

The directive to destroy all of this important material came directly from the studio, and Cain later learned that the studio had failed to keep any of it. “When they finally, a few years after I left, contacted me and said ‘oops, we lost it,’ I thought they were trapping me into ‘we’re going to sue you if you say you have it,’” Cain continued. “Turns out, no, they really lost it.”

Cain’s experience highlights a widespread issue in the gaming industry: the loss of important historical materials. “There’s a lot of organisations out there that demand to be the archive keeper, and then they do a terrible job at it,” Cain explained. “They lose the assets they were in charge of keeping. This has happened multiple times in my career.”

For Cain, this loss is especially painful, as he was the one who originally held onto the key early development materials. “The amount of stuff that’s been lost about Fallout and its early development saddens me,” he said. “I had it. I had that in digital form and was ordered to destroy it.”

Cain went on to explain how this issue extends far beyond Fallout, affecting many games from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. “So many other games that came out in the ’70s, and ’80s and ’90s – the code is gone. The art assets are gone. Sure, you can try to crack open the databases and pull out those things, but you’re only getting the final stuff. You’re not getting the original source code or artwork,” he said. “I think it’s even happening for the ‘00s and the ‘10s and probably now in the ‘20s. Stuff is being lost.”

The situation has brought Cain to praise preservation efforts, like those by the gaming platform GOG, which works to save and share classic video games. Cain also noted how individual efforts, as well as institutional actions, sometimes work against the preservation of gaming history. “Individuals and organisations actively work against preservation,” Cain added. “The stuff that’s been lost is just heartbreaking.”

Despite the painful loss of Fallout’s early materials, Cain had positive things to say about Amazon’s TV adaptation of Fallout. “They had huge sets with amazing production values on them… Amazing props. The acting was phenomenal. It was just surreal to watch Fallout recreated in real life like that,” he said.

Cain’s comments serve as a reminder of the importance of preserving not just the finished games but the original source material that shapes them. For fans of Fallout and gaming history, it’s clear that what was lost has left a permanent gap in the game’s legacy.

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