Fallout 4's Ending Explained (In Detail) (2024)

Fallout 4 culminates in an explosive ending, although exactly what kind depends on a final choice made by the player in the last few hours of its campaign. There are two main endings to Fallout 4, each of which is tied to one of the main factions in the Institute conflict. However, minor details of the ending are also influenced by the player's relationships with the various factions of Fallout 4. Both their alliances and their rivalries will come into play in the final moments of Fallout 4, bringing an all-encompassing conclusion to an epic story of warring ideologies.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for every ending in Fallout 4.]

Ultimately, each ending of Fallout 4 determines who wins the conflict between the Institute and every other extant faction in the Commonwealth. The Institute is a scientifically-minded group devoted to the development of synthetic humans, or Synths. Secretive, militaristic, and omnipresent, many recognize the Institute's activities as inherently dangerous - but others don't even believe they exist. The Brotherhood of Steel opposes the Institute on technological grounds, the Minutemen on safety grounds, and the Railroad on Synth rights grounds. The Sole Survivor can form their own opinion, but they may be biased: their long-lost son, Shaun, is the Institute's director.

Fallout 4's Institute Ending Sees The Sole Survivor Take Over For Shaun

"Nuclear Family"

If the player character sides with the Institute the whole way through, then Fallout 4 ends with Shaun dying of cancer, and the Sole Survivor taking his place as director. The player character returns to the Institute after having dismantled both the Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad, only to find Shaun on his deathbed. They explain to him that they've enacted his vision for the Wasteland: there's no longer any threat to the Institute's activity, and they're free to act as they please.

Shaun's final words vary based on the Sole Survivor's choices throughout the game, but no matter what, he expresses gratitude for their help, and gratefulness for their unlikely reunion. If the Sole Survivor expresses doubts about taking Shaun's place, he'll reassure them by reminding them they need not be a carbon copy of him: following their own direction will suffice. What follows is the epilogue, in which the Sole Survivor expresses their renewed grief at having lost Shaun a second time.

Each Fallout 4 ending also changes some of the finer details of life in the Wasteland, and in this one, flags emblazoned with the Institute's seal will fly over Diamond City. Synth warriors will take over various checkpoints throughout the Commonwealth. There's nothing else the player can do to aid the Institute directly, but by speaking to Mama Murphy, they can get a glimpse of their future. She explains that, while the Sole Survivor's actions won't win them any love, they'll work with a team of brilliant scientists to define the future of humanity. However, not all their experiments will be successful, and they will leave many sacrifices in their wake.

This could be called Fallout 4's bad ending: although the Sole Survivor is able to spend a touching final moment with Shaun, they take over control of a destructive faction and ultimately become a tyrannical ruler. They'll also be responsible for tracking down and recapturing escaped Synths throughout the campaign. Here, the Sole Survivor selfishly values personal happiness over the greater good, and the Wasteland is a far worse place for it.

Fallout 4's Other Faction Endings See The Sole Survivor Nuke The Institute

"The Nuclear Option"

But if the Sole Survivor decides to align with any other faction, they'll instead receive a final quest entitled "The Nuclear Option." This quest involves infiltrating the Institute, planting a nuclear warhead at its heart and destroying the faction once and for all.

It proceeds much the same way with each faction, with a few differences depending on the Sole Survivor's choices during the quest. If the player sides with the Brotherhood, they'll have a chance to remotely deactivate all Synths in the Commonwealth before blowing the place up. If they side with the Railroad or Minutemen, they can choose to evacuate the Institute. The Railroad version of this quest may also allow them to smuggle a Synth version of a young Shaun out of the facility.

Either way, the epilogue will be the same: the Sole Survivor will lament their role in repeating the end of the world. They'll acknowledge their selfishness and their failings in trying to find Shaun, but they'll also promise to help build a better future. The flags of their chosen faction will fly in Diamond City, and checkpoints will be staffed by guards of that affiliation.

Finally, speaking with Mama Murphy after any of these endings will reveal a unique, faction-specific future. If the Sole Survivor sided with the Minutemen, she'll describe them as a hero of the united Wasteland, bringing collaboration, peace, and hope to the Commonwealth. If they sided with the Brotherhood of Steel, she'll paint a picture of them as a staunch defender of technology, a beacon of security and safety in a chaotic world. And if they side with the Railroad, she'll describe them as an unsung hero of the oppressed, unrecognized but indispensable.

These could be called the good endings of Fallout 4: while the Brotherhood's dogma and the Railroad's obscurity aren't the best possible outcomes, they all usher in a time of relative stability for the Commonwealth. The Sole Survivor puts a cause they believe in before their personal happiness, and is rewarded with the knowledge that they've changed the world, for better or worse.

The Sole Survivor's Standing With Fallout 4's Factions Determines Their Fate

Variations On The Minutemen, Brotherhood Of Steel, Institute, & Railroad Endings

Siding with any given faction until the final quest guarantees its survival, but the player character can also allow other factions to coexist (or not) depending on their actions toward them. For example, if the player doesn't activate the signal to evacuate during "The Nuclear Option," the Railroad will become hostile in the aftermath of the final quest. If they side with the Railroad, they'll destroy the Brotherhood along with the Institute. But if the Brotherhood of Steel is hostile toward the Sole Survivor for any reason, the player may still elect to destroy the Prydwen.

Ideally, the player should decline any missions that would make other factions hostile toward them ("Tactical Thinking," "Mass Fusion") and take the final quest from the Minutemen. If they do all this correctly, all three factions will coexist after the credits roll, leading to the best possible ending.

Although the Fallout TV show clearly considers certain endings canon, the outcome of Fallout 4 is ultimately up to the player. The final choice simply comes down to the Sole Survivor's worldview, and their willingness to put others' freedom over their own happiness. No matter what they choose, the world of Fallout 4 is forever changed by their actions.

Fallout 4

Bethesda's action RPG Fallout 4 puts players into the vault suit of the Lone Survivor, a pre-war soldier from an alternate future cryogenically frozen inside Vault 111. After their infant son is kidnapped, they venture out into the irradiated wasteland of the Commonwealth to scour the ruins of Boston for any sign of him. In doing so, they encounter various factions and companions and use an array of skills and abilities to navigate the apocalyptic remnants of society.

Franchise

Fallout

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

November 10, 2015

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Publisher(s)

Bethesda

Genre(s)

RPG , Action

ESRB

M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS

How Long To Beat

27 Hours