CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — With the recent release of Amazon Prime’s Fallout TV show, Fallout 76, a survival adventure game set in West Virginia, has seen a massive increase in players.
Fallout 76 actually achieved a new all-time peak in April 2024 of 72,930 concurrent players since the game was added to Steam in April 2020. More players are exploring the West Virginia wasteland than ever before, but how similar are the in-game locations of Fallout 76 to the real-life landmarks across West Virginia?
Keep in mind that Fallout 76 is not meant to be a one-to-one recreation of the state of West Virginia; it would be pretty boring if you had to physically walk all 30 miles of I-79 between Morgantown and Clarksburg. However, other things can be compared, like the inclusion (or omission) of certain landmarks and where those landmarks are located.
Morgantown is not south of Clarksburg
Because Fallout 76’s map is more of a square than it is “West Virginia shaped,” there are inevitably going to be differences between the game and real life. However, no matter how you look at it, Morgantown is certainly not south of Clarksburg and Grafton. The town of Monongah is also west of Morgantown in real life, instead of east of Morgantown like it is in the game.
Besides those four towns though, many of the other cities in Fallout 76 are roughly in the correct place. Flatwoods, Helvetia, Sutton and Summersville are all actually quite close to their locations in real life.
Name changes to certain landmarks
Many notable West Virginia landmarks have had their names or appearances changed for the sake of the game. However, anyone familiar with the region could recognize some of these places even under a different name. Here are a few of the most prominent examples:
| West Virginia landmark | Fallout 76 landmark equivalent |
| West Virginia University | Vault-Tec University |
| The Greenbrier | Whitespring Resort |
| Green Bank Observatory | National Isolated Radio Array |
| West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville | Eastern Regional Penitentiary |
| Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold | Palace of the Winding Path |
| “The World’s Largest Teapot” in Chester | The Giant Teapot |
| Summersville Lighthouse | Landview Lighthouse |
| I-79 | I-59 |
There are also several West Virginia landmarks or locations that got to keep their original name:
- Camden Park in Huntington
- Spruce Knob
- New River Gorge Bridge
- Morgantown High School
- Summersville Lake
- Mothman Museum
- Prickett’s Fort
- Dolly Sods
West Virginia cryptids in Fallout 76
Fallout 76 also features several pieces of cryptid folklore that players get to fight against in-game like the Mothman, Grafton Monster, Ogua, Bigfoot, Sheepsquatch and even the prehistoric Mega Sloth. Even the Veggie Man gets an offhand mention in-game, although it’s not actually in the game itself.
Other noteworthy sites in Fallout 76
Fallout 76 also added several fictional or niche locations to the map like New Gad. The real town of Gad existed in the current location of Summersville Lake before the construction of the Summersville Dam. In Fallout 76, the Summersville Dam was destroyed, causing a massive flood that destroyed much of the surrounding area, including Charleston. After the flood, settlers founded New Gad on top of the ruins of the original town.
The Pumpkin House in Kenova appears in Fallout 76, although it is found on the opposite end of the state compared to its real-life location. The Philippi Battlefield Cemetery also exists in the game—referencing the first land battle of the Civil War that happened in Barbour County—though the actual city of Philippi is nowhere to be found.
