After five years of development and a record breaking release, the story of Fallout: London has a lot to say about modding and the state of the Games industry at present, but also has us excited for new Studio Team-FOLON’s future!
In this article we correspond with Jordan Albon, Co-Founder at now indie-studio Team FOLON, and Head of 3D Art on the Fallout: London mod, and Michel Lichand, a Writer from the project who was behind (my favourite) companion: Arthur Mountbatten.
In 2021, two years after its inception, a public trailer for the complete overhaul mod Fallout: London had gamers longing for a new post-apocalyptic playground.
During E3 that year, the mod’s announcement trailer garnered over ten times more views than Bethesda’s own trailer for Fallout 76: The Pitt. Four years later, Fallout: London would go on to break records: within 24 hours of release, it became the fastest redeemed title on GOG.com, amassing 500,000 downloads before surpassing one million on Fallout Day, October 23rd of last year.
With a modding and voice acting team of over a hundred people—fifty of whom are credited in the end credits or listed on Team FOLON’s LinkedIn—how many entered the industry professionally?
The short answer? Some team members got hired, even by Bethesda. The longer answer is more complicated and raises another question: did they even want to be hired into AAA Studios? When I began researching LinkedIn, I initially felt disheartened by the number of “Open to Work” banners and profiles listing Fallout: London as their only industry experience. Even though there were people marked as explicitly looking for Games-related jobs, it is an easy trap to fall into assuming that “the end goal” for all modders is to be swooped up by a large AAA Studio with a salary and compartmentalized job title like “Associate Shrubbery Texture Artist”.
Fallout: London started as a passion project by fans: and that’s what made it so good.
Who Got Hired by Bethesda / Other Studios?
Several members of the team of near a hundred people behind Fallout: London did break into Bethesda and other notable studios. Interestingly though, as revealed in my interview with Jordan Albon, co-founder of Team FOLON and Head of 3D Art on the mod, he said:
“In terms of job prospects, weirdly enough, there was more happening earlier on after our initial trailer release, when there was a massive wave of people on the team being hired. Since release, that has died down for me personally, which was unfortunate timing, but that could reflect the recent changes in the industry itself.”
People hired included Stephanie Zachariadis, Head Writer at Fallout: London, who was poached by Bethesda to work as a Quest Designer on Fallout 76, after the trailer’s success. Other hires included Tyler Houston, a Level Designer on the mod who joined Bethesda Game Studios as an Associate Level Designer, and Matthew Gibbs, an artist from Jordan’s team, who went on to work at Frontier Developments after contributing vehicle art to the project.
It appeared that, despite Fallout: London’s success post-launch, the timing couldn’t have been worse for any of the team who might be hoping to use it as a springboard into employment now in 2025. They would be entering a job market flooded with tens of thousands of veterans laid off from established studios—some with decades of experience—all still struggling to find positions. That being said… Jordan decided to hold his own ground after receiving some offers, as there was something very exciting happening with the core group at Team FOLON.
“We Have Made Our Own Game Company”
Whilst it was easy to see the lack of people getting “Jobs at big studios” as a bad thing, it doesn’t paint the full picture. Many of the team actually turned down job offers throughout the years to see the mod through, and to now see their own studio come to fruition. As Project Lead Prilladog put in the Team FOLON Discord channel:
Team FOLON® is a group of hobbyists, modders, and game enthusiasts who have come together to create exciting new games.
Did Fallout: London Help Their Careers?
Jordan believes the mod’s success “absolutely has had an impact” on his career, adding that it allowed him to practice 3D art and animation “on a semi-professional level for years” and become “proficient in tools I thought I would never really use.”
Michel Lichand, a writer on the project who created the companion character Arthur Mountbatten, echoed this sentiment:
“It’s been a tremendous creative opportunity because our team leaders always gave us the chance to try new things. I started off writing side quests and ended up writing an entire companion, which I didn’t even think I’d get to do when I joined.”
Networking was another major benefit. Jordan credits Fallout: London’s industry connections to “GOG and our visit to Gamescom, where we were surprised by how many industry professionals congratulated us on our release. It opened up a lot of avenues.”
Is Modding Viable to enter the Industry?
Jordan offers a “brutally honest” take, with the fact that some modders struggle to find employment: “I can see why”.
“Modding is a weird one. Some modding communities are incredibly skilled and work at such a high level that they may as well be considered industry professionals.”
But for others, modding experience doesn’t always translate to job opportunities. In the case of Fallout: London, Team FOLON set a high standard, as Michel pointed out, “The team was very selective about who they let on. If it wasn’t for my previous experience at Lionsgate, I doubt I would have gotten far in the prospect.”
Advice for Modders
Jordan’s advice for aspiring modders looking to break into the industry?
“Find a sub-community where you best fit and where you can make the most out of it as a hobby or learning experience.”
For some roles, modding is a natural portfolio-builder.
“A 3D artist can easily find a place on a modding team if they’re skilled enough to work in that engine, meaning they can rapidly pad out their portfolio with game-ready assets. But compare that to a writer, for example, whose work is only fully realized once the project is complete.”
Michel benefited from seeing his work reach the final product, adding: “I rarely get to see my words ‘come to life’ outside of sketch comedy, so finally having something I can point to and say ‘Hey, here’s an example of me writing a character’ is fantastic.”
What’s Next?
Jordan remains “fully dedicated to Team FOLON for the startup together” and believes that “considering the layoffs, I think I made the better decision by holding my ground.” Meanwhile, Michel will be looking for new opportunities.
With major AAA studios cutting talented teams—most recently NetEase with Marvel Rivals—more developers are choosing to go indie. Team FOLON have successfully built a community around their mod’s success, and now they have their own game studio for future projects where they can maintain control of development.
Fallout: London was a passion project, and for many, it will remain just that. Would the team truly want to dive headfirst into a large studio prioritizing shareholder profit, where their work might be cut, cancelled, or lost in corporate layoffs? During a time where every week we see more examples of waves of developers being let down by Gaming executives?
Those staying with Team FOLON won’t have to worry about that. Whilst their indie venture might not be easy – FOLON have already proven they can deliver something special from ground zero: with no budget, fanbase, or studio; simply with enough time and an organised community of passionate gamers.
Now, they set sail with the wind of Fallout: London‘s success behind them toward new, exciting, ventures—and we wish them the best of luck.