Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says "leaving some mystery" and undeveloped lore in games is important so players are keen to play follow-ups and sequels: "If you tell everything, players will want nothing"

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Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says "leaving some mystery" and undeveloped lore in games is important so players are keen to play follow-ups and sequels: "If you tell everything, players will want nothing" News By Scott McCrae published 28 November 2025

"Just leave a little mystery in there. It'll be good for you. People will like it."

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Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says it's important to leave breadcrumbs of unsolved lore in games so players are interested in it expanding in the eventual follow-ups.

In a YouTube video titled "Leaving Some Mystery," Cain offers some advice: "Don't feel like you need to address every question the player might have." As an example, he says, "In Fallout, we didn't address what Harold was. We didn't need to, wasn't important to the story, isn't important to the setting. It's a fun mystery."

Cain talks about the importance of "leaving some mystery," which he clarifies "means that there's no exposition anywhere in your game by an NPC, or a cinematic, or there's not a book lying around or a computer log entry, that explains it. The team may know the answer, but it's not addressed in the game." And even then, he says, "The reason the team knows is you want to make sure they don't put anything contradictory."

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He explains there are two ways to go about it: you could develop a mystery where "there's a lot of evidence in the game that will let the player believe they know what happened, but you never directly tell them." However, Cain also offers "there's another way to do it too, which is just, not develop the lore… "The team doesn't know, the game never mentions it, and the players will never be able to find out in this game."

Cain explains, "The reason you want to put mysteries in your base game is so that you can address them in later expansions and DLC and in sequels," and that "The whole point of having unexplored lore is so that you can explore it later."

He offers advice to aspiring designers, saying that "if you tell everything, players will want nothing." Cain then adds, "It's OK to leave some mystery in it for later exploration or even not for exploration at all. Just leave a little mystery in there. It'll be good for you. People will like it."

Fallout: New Vegas fans uncover an early build for the iconic RPG, featuring the original Mr House design and a steamy romance to go alongside it.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. TOPICS Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation Scott McCraeSocial Links NavigationContributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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