Bethesda shuts down AI-made browser project Fallout: New York

Bethesda has forced work to stop on the browser project Fallout: New York. Its creator, Chris First, said ZeniMax Media sent him a notice objecting to the project’s use of the fallout.nyc domain and the Fallout name on intellectual-property grounds.

First presented the project as a browser game with quests, dialogue trees, V.A.T.S. and a working Pip-Boy. He said he directed Claude and a studio of AI agents; the project had no texture or sound files.

The project was built with AI

First said he asked the system to make a game that was not merely inspired by Fallout but was “exactly like Fallout.” The report says the project used the franchise name and ran in a browser, while its negative quality assessments were opinions rather than formal test results.

ZeniMax’s notice and the response

ZeniMax’s message specifically cited the fallout.nyc domain. Online responses criticized First for using the Fallout name and for relying on AI; some commenters suggested that renaming the project might resolve the dispute, but First did not appear inclined to take that route.

The report contrasts the project with the large Fallout: London and Skyblivion mods, which were developed by hundreds of volunteers over years. It also notes that Fallout 4 was released 11 years ago, without reporting any new Bethesda plans for the series.