The original Fallout, released in 1997, is now free for a limited time on Steam, and there's no catch. Users just have to download it before midnight, Sept. 30, after which they can keep it forever.

Download 'Fallout' For Free

Bethesda decided to give the game away for free as part of the title's 20th anniversary. However, it's a Steam exclusive, so users can't turn to alternative marketplaces such as GOG or Humble to get it. But again, there's no catch. Just log in to steam, navigate over to the Fallout page, and click "install game." Make sure to do so before the midnight of Sept. 30, though. For the record, that was the game's exact release date 20 years ago. Pretty wild.

Fallout is an open-world RPG developed by Interplay Productions, set in a post-apocalyptic and retro-futuristic world. It follows vault dwellers after a global nuclear war in an alternate timeline sometime in the middle of the 22nd century.

Though not a direct sequel, Fallout is considered as the spiritual successor to 1988's Wasteland, another open-world game by Interplay. It is also set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world ruined by nuclear holocaust. Both Wasteland and Fallout were each critically acclaimed at the time of their release. Fallout was also a huge financial success, spawning a whole franchise complete with sequels and spin-off titles.

Fallout Series

Fallout was succeeded by Fallout 2 in 1998, then Fallout 3 10 years later in 2008, then Fallout: New Vegas in 2010. Fallout 4, released in 2015, is Falllout's most recent main entry. Fallout 4 currently has an 87 percent rating on Metacritic, which means generally favorable reviews.

There's no telling when the next installment could arrive, but rumors and speculation about Fallout 5 are already running rampant.

While Fallout is free for a limited time, no other titles in the whole series have received a discount to celebrate the original's 20th birthday, so tough luck for those who expected price cuts across the Fallout franchise.

Make sure to check Fallout on Steam nonetheless.

Fallout 4: VR

The next Fallout game, scheduled for release in Dec. 12, is Fallout 4: VR, launching exclusively for the HTC Vive headset for $60. It basically includes the core Fallout 4 game but optimized and reworked as a full-fledged VR experience. It remains uncertain whether it's the "game of the year" edition, which includes all DLC released thus far.

Thoughts on the original Fallout and the series as a whole? Will you get the game while it's free on Steam? Any predictions about Fallout 5? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!