Three musical notes have come to define Fallout: C, E-flat, and E. Together, they make up a motif so powerful that it underscored one of the Fallout TV show’s most impactful moments.
The meaning behind Fallout’s famous theme music
From Fallout 3 to Fallout TV, this motif has made its mark
Simone de Rochefort has been producing & hosting YouTube videos for Polygon since 2016. She co-directed the upcoming documentary The Great Game: The Making of Spycraft.
That’s important, because when I say “Fallout music” you’re probably just as likely to imagine a jaunty tune by the Ink Spots as you are a lush orchestral theme. But the latter is the emotional underpinning of the Fallout world. It evolves to suit the narrative of each subsequent Fallout game, and it gave fans goosebumps when it finally appeared in the Fallout TV show. And it exists because of Inon Zur.
Zur has been the series’ main composer since Fallout 3, as well as a slew of other beloved games from Everquest to Dragon Age 2. He previously worked on Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, before Bethesda took over the IP.
For our latest YouTube video, I spoke with him about his process of composing and re-composing the Fallout theme to suit each new entry in the franchise — and how he feels about its appearance in Prime Video’s Fallout series, which debuted in 2024 to critical acclaim.
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