Fallout Season 1: Vaults, Explained

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Fallout Season 1.

Vaults are a key concept in the Fallout video games and Prime Video streaming series – so, what are they? And which Vaults appear in Fallout Season 1?

Related: When Does Fallout Season 1 Come Out?

What Are Vaults in Fallout Canon?

Within the shared canon of the Fallout games and show, Vaults are sprawling underground bunkers. They were commissioned by the US government, and designed and built by Vault-Tec Corporation between 2054 and 2074. Vaults were theoretically self-sufficient and capable of keeping inhabitants and their descendants alive long enough to repopulate the US following a nationwide catastrophe (more on that later). The original plan was for 400,000 Vaults to house the wider population, however, only 122 of the survival shelters were ever built. This – coupled with widespread disbelief regarding the gravity of the situation – ensured that only a very small number of people were safely sealed away in the Vaults when nuclear war broke out between the US and China in 2077.

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These Vault-dwellers experienced wildly different circumstances, depending on their Vault. Only 17 of Vault-Tec’s 122 Vaults actually functioned as promised. The rest were part of a series of covert science experiments, with the occupants serving as unwitting test subjects. The Enclave – a Deep State outfit that infiltrated Vault-Tec – oversaw these experiments. Their methods ranged from the practical (cryogenics) to the downright bonkers (human sacrifice). Predictably, how long a Vault’s population lasted largely depended on the nature of the Enclave’s research there. Other factors (such as shonky manufacturing) impacted the Vaults’ respective survival rates, as well.

Which Vaults Appears in Fallout Season 1?

That’s Vault lore covered – so, which Vaults appear in Fallout Season 1? Four Vaults appear in the show: Vaults 4, 31, 32, and 33. Showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner created these Vaults specifically for the Fallout show, however, they are nevertheless considered part of the official Fallout canon. All four are located on the Wasteland’s West Coast. Vault 4 lies below the ruins of Los Angeles, while Vaults 31, 32, and 33 are beneath what’s left of nearby Santa Monica.

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In terms of the Vaults’ respective purposes, both were made with experimentation in mind. Vault 4 was a trial Vault headed up by scientist volunteers. These eggheads soon let power go to their heads, conducting unethical experiments on unwitting surface dwellers. Their test subjects eventually fought back, wiping out Vault 4’s original occupants. Meanwhile, Vaults 31, 32, and 33 are actually a single, interconnected structure. Vault 31 secretly houses cryogenically frozen Vault-Tec executives, who periodically emerge from stasis to take up overseer duties in Vaults 32 and 33.

Fallout Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.

The above article was updated on 4/11/2024 by Leon Miller to add information about Vaults in Fallout Season 1.