Latest in Popular Video Game Series to Be Set in West Virginia

West Virginia will be the setting for the latest in a video game series with an international following. The game will feature landscapes, folklore and well-known locations from around the state in a post-apocalyptic time period.

Over the weekend, American-based Bethesda Game Studios revealed a new trailer and exclusive gameplay for its biggest video game to-date titled, Fallout 76.

Bethesda Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard revealed details for the upcoming game at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Set in the hills of West Virginia,” he said, “you are one of the first to emerge into an untamed and very different wasteland.”

Howard says Fallout 76 is a prequel to the family of Fallout video games that started in the late 90s and set in post-apocalyptic times with cyberpunk and retro futuristic art and style.

Some well-known locations are seen in the latest game trailer, like the State Capitol, the Greenbrier Resort, and West Virginia University’s Woodburn Hall. Some of West Virginia’s own local monsters, like the Beast of Grafton and the Mothman, also make an appearance.

“Now most people don’t know West Virginia that well,” Howard said. “It is an incredible array of natural wonders, towns, and government secrets, and the quest will take you through six distinct regions; each with their own style, risks, and rewards.”

Howard says Fallout 76 will be the first Fallout game to be played entirely online and uses new technology to enhance gameplay and visual landscape.

Both the teaser and the latest trailer feature John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”