Fallout: How Many Bombs Were Dropped Total?

Since 1997, the Fallout games have been expanding and the series has established itself as one of the most popular post-apocalyptic universes in pop culture. On the surface, the concept is pretty simple: The countries of the world destroy themselves by firing nuclear bombs at each other, leaving behind whatever was lucky (or unlucky) enough to survive.

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The stories take place in different places around the world, with the land collectively being referred to as "the Wasteland" or "the Wastes". It's not an easy life with most animal and plant life altered in dangerous ways, a lawless way of life, and the constant presence of radiation. That being said, it makes you wonder how the world got to this point and the bombs that changed it.

The Great War And Vault-Tec

The consistent historical event of most, if not all, the main entries in the Fallout game series (and TV show) is the Great War. This is described as being the final conflict that led to the world becoming a barren wasteland. It was a thermonuclear conflict that occurred decades if not centuries before the year established in the various titles.

It's believed that it occurred in the year 2077 when the two strongest powers at the time, the United States and China, directly attacked each other with nuclear bombs. This was referred to as the Sino-American War, and though it's unclear how many other countries were involved, the consequences of such a conflict devastated the world, changing the natural order forever.

However, the TV show offers another theory that Vault-Tec fabricated the Great War. During a meeting hosted by key members of Vault-Tec and the heads of other competing tech companies, a plan was pitched to secure consumer demand forever.

The hosts suggest dropping the nuclear bombs themselves, thereby creating an incident that would lead to an international response, retaliation, and escalation. Since all companies are built to endure and provide during such an event, their financial futures would be made concrete.

How Many Bombs Were Dropped?

Based on the various data outlets, the countries that possess nuclear weapons have arsenals ranging from less than ten to a few thousand. Despite this, it would take less than a fraction of those going off to result in the potential post-apocalyptic scenario as depicted in the Fallout universe. However, even though there is lore and many theories about how the bombs were used, there's no official data about a definitive number.

The biggest clue as to how many of them were dropped may come from the TV series rather than the game. When flashbacks are shown of the bombs detonating for the first time, they seem to go off one after the other, with several going off within view of the same city. This implies that each major city was hit multiple times to ensure maximum cover.

Another big hit is the digital map that is displayed during the Vault-Tec meeting. It shows the United States and marks all the operational Vaults on the map stated to be "over 100." To necessitate the use and value of the Vaults, multiple bombs would have to be dropped in the area surrounding the vault.

However, we still only have estimations, and it's unclear if multiple countries participated in some way, or if those with nuclear arsenals launched all or just some of their bombs. It also stands to reason that bombs not launched had a chance to go off when hit by the impact of another bomb.

Even though the world wouldn't need every bomb to be completely devastated, it's logical to assume that the number of bombs dropped during the two-hour nuclear exchange (as described in Fallout 4), numbered in the tens if not hundreds.

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