The Rest of the World Wasn't Safe From the Nuclear Bombs in 'Fallout'

The new Fallout television series introduced a new piece into the canon lore of the post-nuclear apocalyptic world. Everything Fallout fans have seen so far between the video games and the new Prime Video series has taken place in the United States — but what happened to the rest of the world after that first nuclear explosion? There's some evidence about the fate of other countries sprinkled in the world's expansive lore.

The nuclear destruction of the world was the result of ongoing tensions between the United States and China, resulting in the Great War. It's unclear who exactly dropped the first nuclear bomb, as Tim Cain, the original creator of the Fallout series, claimed in an interview with GamesRadar it was China, while the first season of the Fallout television series suggests that Vault-Tec may have detonated the first bomb.

It's said that the war was over two hours after the first bomb was dropped, thanks to the quick retaliation of both parties. By that time, not only were the two countries essentially destroyed, but the fallout from the nuclear explosions would result in catastrophic damage to the rest of the planet.

According to the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide, a game manual included in the original release of Fallout, it's stated that the warheads used in the Great War caused nuclear-laden debris from the explosions to scatter into the lower atmosphere, essentially enveloping the whole planet.

This, however, does not mean that other countries turned into a wasteland as the U.S. did, but it's clear that the entire world suffered from intense radiation, negatively affecting the people and environment.

Unfortunately, there's little in the Fallout canon to describe what life is like outside of the U.S. post-nuclear war. It's assumed that China is similarly destroyed, given the U.S.'s retaliation of nuclear bombs, but there are only minor characters in the video games to suggest the state of other countries.

Allistair Tenpenny, a minor NPC from Fallout 3, immigrated to the U.S. from the U.K. after the Great War, confirming that there is still life in other countries. Though his decision to immigrate was initially suspected to suggest that things were worse in Europe than they are in North America, there's some discourse online about it.

"It's probably a bit much to assume that Europe escaped totally unscathed, of course. They were in a bad (if not apocalyptic) way before the Great War, and even if not a single bomb landed on the continent during the war, the economic, environmental, and social catastrophe resulting from the world's two superpowers suddenly going up in mushroom clouds would be horrific, like the Great Depression times a hundred. But 'far worse than USA'?" Reddit user WildfireDarkstar explained.

"They almost certainly were bombed less than North America, shouldn't have FEV-mutated abominations to contend with, and seemingly have both knowledge of and the ability to travel to other parts of the world," they continued. "On the whole, they may not be as well-off as the most successful parts of the former US, like the NCR, but they're certainly not going to be as badly damaged as places like the Capital Wasteland, the Pitt, or even the Commonwealth."

Clearly, there's not much information on life outside of the U.S. in the world of Fallout — but with Fallout 5 rumored to be in the works and the new show, there's plenty of opportunity for the lore to expand in the coming years.

Season 1 of Fallout is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.