Reddit tipster claims Bethesda has been "scoping out and researching" Massachusetts capital for upcoming unannounced game; Fallout 3, New Vegas in-game messages lend credence to assertion. If a new rumor proves accurate, Bethesda's next Fallout game will be set in Boston. A Reddit user going by "fallout4boston" claims the unannounced Fallout 4 will be set in the Massachusetts capital city. This tipster says Bethesda has been "scoping out and researching" the city, and suggests the developer has a "strong connection" to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a prestigious research university near Boston. The Reddit user "may or may not be an MIT employee," according to the post. A Bethesda representative told GameSpot, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation." According to the Fallout Wikia page, "The Commonwealth" was referenced in 2008's Fallout 3. Four real-world states in the US categorize themselves as Commonwealths: Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Bethesda lead designer Emil Pagliarulo told 1UP in 2009 that the Commonwealth reference in Fallout 3 was in fact speaking about Massachusetts, not any of the other three states. Additionally, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas included mentions of a mysterious "Institute," which is located in The Commonwealth. This could potentially be related to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology referenced by the Reddit user.
All the evidence up until now has indicated a future game will take place almost immediately after New Vegas, and on the West Coast. As I'm unfamiliar with the general layout of the United States, I'm not sure exactly where Boston is - is it situated along the West Coast? Since New Vegas was made by Obsidian, I don't know exactly how much input there was from Bethesda - so whether it would have even been feasible to set up a sequel within a spin-off such as that I don't know. Maybe the West Coast game is Obsidian laying the groundwork for the next Obsidian spin-off (assuming they get to do another), and not Fallout 4 itself. Apart from this, the only thing that's been 'confirmed' about Fallout 4 is that it will feature Caesar's Legion in a larger role, this has been mentioned by Bethesda a while back. Some very convincing info in the OP anyhow, and since it's coming up to a year since Skyrim was released, perhaps we're getting to the point where Fallout 4 is about to enter production and real details start coming out, so it's all interesting stuff
A swift response, thanks So that means that the New Vegas hints and suggestions are being ignored by Bethesda and maybe being left alone for Obsidian to fill if and when they get a second go at making a Fallout spin-off. That's probably the best thing to do, since (as far as Bethesda is concerned) they can basically draw the line between their material and Obsidians, making it much easier for the players to decide themselves whether these spin-offs are or are not part of the canon. There's still the small matter of Caesar's Legions appearing, though they are rather cool and deserve to show up in the main series. It's odd in a way, since you can kill Caesar in New Vegas, but it's a good place to suggest a certain level of disparity between the primary (Bethesda created) titles and the secondary (Obsidian) spin-offs. New Vegas seemed to be far more connected to Fallout 1 and 2, while Fallout 3 seemed to be going in a different direction, so there's that stylistic difference in tone and style to consider as well.
