The codename for the original Fallout 3 (you know, the one crafted by the Black Isle Studios developers) was, for many years, the stuff of legend. Oh, it existed, as made obvious by the fact that, fairly recently, a tech demo for the halted work-in-progress version of things was leaked that stood in marked contrast to the official version that Bethesda was already hard at work and trucking along on, but it was far from complete.

Even still, the heady mix of nostalgia and honest-to-goodness pedigree that Black Isle had built up before folding when Interplay took a nosedive made for plenty of "what-ifs." The tech demo made it clear the game still had far to go, but we can't help wondering what would have happened had everything fallen into place. If the core design team was still working on things, if the game was a proper sequel to Fallout 2, if Interplay had the financial muscle to really push the game like Bethesda did. Unfortunately, just like all those ifs, the Van Buren version of Fallout 3 exists only as a possibility.​