Fallout: New California mod arrives on GOG

Fallout: New California, a DLC-sized total conversion for Fallout: New Vegas, is now available through GOG. The mod has been out since 2018 and remains downloadable from Nexus Mods and ModDB, but the storefront listing gives players a route to it that does not involve a mod repository.

Built by a team working under the name Radian-Helix Media, New California is set west of New Vegas and roughly two decades before the events of the base game. Players take the role of a resident of Vault 18 rather than the courier of the original campaign, and the mod carries its own branching story rather than extending the one New Vegas tells.

The campaign runs through a roster of factions familiar from the earlier Fallout games, with the player negotiating between them as the story progresses. Groups appearing across the mod include:

• The New California Republic under president Wendell Peterson
• The Bishop Family, representing New Reno’s criminal interests
• Remnant Shi Clans
• Enclave soldiers in power armour
• Super Mutant troops and unaffiliated raiders

Rock Paper Shotgun reviewed the mod in 2019, with Dominic Tarason describing it as "more proper, story-driven Fallout filled with significant character choices" and putting the runtime at around ten hours. That review noted some sections were rougher than others, but called the campaign highly replayable and recommended it to players who had not taken to Fallout 76.

Anyone picking up New California through GOG will also need the Ultimate Edition of Fallout: New Vegas from the same storefront for the mod to run. Players who already own New Vegas elsewhere, or who would rather stay with the existing distribution, can still install the mod from Nexus Mods or ModDB as before. The GOG release does not replace those versions; it adds a storefront route to a project that has been freely available for close to eight years.