Fallout: Online has been resurrected from developed hell. Not by Bethesda Softworks, but by dedicated Fallout fans.

For several years up until 2012, there was a long legal battle between Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the Fallout franchise, and Interplay, the original creators of the franchise, over the rights to Fallout Online.

Interplay sold the series to Bethesda in 2007, but they retained the rights to develop Fallout: Online under the conditions that they would secure $30 million dollars to finance the game, and that the game would begin development by spring of 2007. Interplay failed to meet up to these conditions. After a long legal battle in 2012, Bethesda bought the rights to Fallout: Online for $2 million only to cancel the project.

Despite Fallout: Online’s cancellation, die-hard fans at fonline-reloaded.net took the game into their own hands and created FOnline: Reloaded in their own vision.

FOnline: Reloaded is an unofficial free-to-play massive online multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) game based on the Fallout Universe. FOnline: Reloaded is in a continuous development phase, but gamers are invited to play the game for free via download at FOnline-Reloaded’s website.

FOnline: Reloaded was created from scratch using imported assets from the original Fallout games, Fallout: Tactics, Arcanum and Baldur’s Gate. The community strives to make FOnline a faithful adaptation that will fit into the Fallout lore, as well as creating a game that all Fallout fans can participate in together.

The game takes place three years before Fallout 2 and provides gamers with a player-driven experience. Quest are assigned to players like a normal MMORPG, but the bulk of the gameplay thrives off player interactions with each other.

Players are encouraged to engage in activities such as faction wars, exploration, scavenging and bartering with each other to fully immerse themselves in the world. Players are also invited to join the conversation forums on the FOnline: Reloaded website to share ideas and information and just simply participate in the community

Fans of the Fallout franchise were disappointed when Bethesda pulled the plug on Fallout: Online. FOnline: Reloaded provides an alternative that isn’t perfect, but is constantly improving and updating with the input of players in the community and supportive moderators.

There isn’t any word yet on if FOnline: Reloaded is in breach of any copyright laws, and Bethesda has not made an official comment on it as of yet. Until then, players can jump into the nuclear wasteland of FOnline: Reloaded free of charge.