The developers of the final 2D Fallout game had no idea their publisher was gasping for air: 'We weren't told anything about Interplay's financial problems'

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Fallout Tactics was made at a make-or-break moment for Interplay, a publisher with its fair share of make-or-break moments.

Concept art from Fallout Tactics, showing a Brotherhood trooper in dark power armour.
(Image credit: Interplay / Bethesda)

Similar to beloved classic PC developer Looking Glass Studios, '90s RPG powerhouse Interplay's legacy seems defined almost as much by its persistent financial difficulties as its great games. In an interview with PC Gamer contributor Jeremy Peel for a wider retrospective on Fallout Tactics, the game's lead designer, Ed Orman, recalled how that instability trickled down to the studio he worked at, Micro Forté.

"At the time, I had no idea what was going on inside Interplay," Orman said. "I do remember thinking that it was weird that we didn’t get to speak to more people that had worked on the original Fallouts. But I think they were busy working on something else." Given the timetable of Fallout Tactics' development (~1999-2001), I'd guess this something else was one or both of the Icewind Dale games.

For most of Tactics' development, Micro Forté interfaced with 14 Degrees East, a strategy-focused subsidiary of Interplay founded in 1999. "I think that insulated us a bunch from whatever was going on at Interplay," said Orman.

While Micro Forté only experienced Interplay's troubles indirectly, Orman thinks the publisher's desperation definitely ratcheted up the tension during development, especially as Micro Forté approached the finish line: "I'm positive we weren't told anything about Interplay’s financial problems, or anything along the lines of them needing to get this game out to get some money in. We just knew that we could not slip.

Ted Litchfield
Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.