Fallout: London Development Team Prioritizes Stability Over ‘Next-Gen’ Fallout 4 Version

In a move underscoring the complexities and continuous challenges of large-scale mod development, Team FOLON, the creators of the massive total conversion mod Fallout: London, have reiterated their decision to halt development on porting the project to the “next-gen” updated version of Fallout 4 on PC. Project lead Dean ‘Prilladog’ Carter confirmed that the mod will remain tethered to the pre-April 2024 iteration of the game, a decision rooted in stability concerns rather than technical inability.

This stance forces PC players who wish to explore the post-apocalyptic streets of the English capital—and its recently released first DLC, Rabbit and Pork—to downgrade their copies of Fallout 4 (version 1.10.163.0) to ensure a stable and functioning experience. The developers believe the risks associated with the official “next-gen” update far outweigh any potential benefits for their expansive project.

The Core Reason: Unresolved Issues and Future Instability

The reasoning behind Team FOLON’s firm position is highly technical, but fundamentally pragmatic. While they possess the technical skill to make the conversion, the developers argue that the current ‘next-gen’ version of Fallout 4 released by Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) still contains unresolved engine and performance issues. Furthermore, the update itself presents a perpetual threat to the mod’s stability.

• Engine Bugs and Instability: According to the developers, the newer Fallout 4 version has inherent bugs that BGS has yet to address. Porting a project of Fallout: London’s scale onto this foundation would compromise the player experience and the mod’s integrity.
• The Threat of Future Patches: Mod developers operate in a constant state of uncertainty with official game updates. Team FOLON fears that any future patches released “on a whim” by BGS could break core systems that are vital to their mod, requiring countless hours of volunteer work to fix. Sticking to the older, stable version significantly mitigates this risk.
• F4SE Dependency: A significant portion of large Fallout 4 mods, including Fallout: London, relies on the Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE). Every official game update breaks F4SE, and consequently every dependent mod, forcing the F4SE team and then every individual mod team to scramble for a fix. Avoiding the latest official version is the safest path for complex mods.

Consequently, the team views maintaining the current, older version as the most responsible action for supporting their existing codebase and the user base that has invested time in their work since the mod’s July 2024 release.

The Console Wildcard: The Only Incentive for a Change in Stance

Despite the current deadlock, the project lead has indicated one specific scenario that could prompt a re-evaluation of their position: the possibility of a console version becoming viable. This would, however, require a monumental shift in Bethesda and console manufacturer policies.

• Massive Technical Hurdles: Fallout: London is a colossal mod, with a file size often cited as over 30GB, which far exceeds the current, strict mod file size limits on both Xbox (e.g., 2GB) and PlayStation (e.g., 900MB).
• Script Extender Restriction: Console platforms currently do not allow the installation or execution of external code like F4SE, which is indispensable for many of Fallout: London’s custom animations and expanded features.
• BGS Intervention Required: For a console port to happen, Bethesda Game Studios would need to fundamentally change their mod support policies—either by allowing much larger file sizes and script extender functionality for select projects, or by officially adopting the mod as a kind of pseudo-DLC. Given the scale and complexity, the latter is a highly unlikely scenario, placing the console release in the realm of a distant “pipedream” for now.

For the time being, the vast, lore-rich total conversion remains exclusively a PC experience, one that rewards players willing to manage their game installation to prioritize stability over Bethesda’s latest official updates. The GOG version of Fallout 4 has notably circumvented the issue for its users, as it was not immediately updated with the “next-gen” changes, making it the most straightforward platform for installing the mod and its new Rabbit and Pork DLC.