Summary
The second season of Fallout, set to premiere in December 2025, picks up following the dramatic cliffhanger of Season 1. As Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the enigmatic Ghoul (Walton Goggins) pursue Hank (Kyle MacLachlan)—who flees in Power Armor toward New Vegas—they delve deeper into the irradiated Mojave Wasteland and the iconic city of New Vegas.
Fans can expect the introduction of iconic game elements like Deathclaws, plus the emergence of major factions such as Caesar’s Legion and possibly the New California Republic. The season also teases expanded lore, intense character development, and narrative surprises, including a mysterious new role by Macaulay Culkin.
The Impact of Visual Effects (VFX) in Production
Visual effects play a starring role in bringing this post-apocalyptic universe to life. The production leaned into a heavyweight VFX pipeline, with Jay Worth returning as visual effects supervisor and Grant Everett overseeing on-set VFX coordination. Multiple studios across the globe contributed to over 3,300 visual effects shots.
Here’s how VFX enhanced Fallout Season 2:
-
Creature and Environment Realism: Montreal’s Framestore handled eerie creatures like Yao Gui and Gulper, while Germany’s RISE FX focused on vertibirds, Power Armor effects, and Wasteland environments.
-
Character Enhancements: Looking Pirates (Sweden) crafted precise prosthetic enhancements such as Cyclops and Snip Snip effects, while FutureWorks in India refined the ghoul’s distinctive nose—showing how many aspects are perfected digitally.
-
Global Collaboration: Additional studios—including Refuge, CoSA, Mavericks, One of Us, Studio 8, and Deep Water FX—played roles in various surface and environmental effects, showcasing the truly international effort behind the visuals.
According to fans familiar with VFX pipelines, the team’s experience and increased budget from California’s tax incentives have likely streamlined workflows, leading to enhanced practical integration and smoother post-production. As one Redditor noted:
“Most of the CGI budget is going to erasing Walton Goggins’ nose and creating the Deathclaws and the buildings of New Vegas.”
Another chimed in: “The vault sets are already built… models for BoS vertibirds and the Prydwin are already done.”
These comments reflect how a blend of physical sets, existing models, and VFX work together to deliver immersive realism.
In Summary
-
Story evolution: Fallout Season 2 heads into New Vegas, exploring new creatures, factions, and secrets in a grittier world.
-
VFX mastery: With global studios delivering creature designs, environment creation, and character refinement across thousands of shots, the visual effects elevate the show’s retro-futuristic landscape to cinematic standards.
-
Enhanced production quality: Streamlined VFX workflows, scale-up in budget, and refined use of practical sets promise a more polished and immersive viewing experience.
Project Information
Executive Producer:
Jonathan Nolan
Distributor:
Prime Video
Production Company:
Amazon MGM Studios
3D Scanning/Aerial Photogrammetry:
SCANable
Our Task
Provided extensive LiDAR/3D Laser Scans/Aerial Photogrammetry of numerous locations, sets, props, and actors used for additional VFX.