October 23, 2077 in the Fallout universe marks the day the nuclear bombs fell, ending life as it was known all across the planet. A conflict between the United States and China had escalated to nuclear war and much of the world's population was annihilated within hours. Bombs fell all across the United States, while the lucky few attempted to enter the only available shelters: underground bunkers created by the Vault-Tec corporation and advertised to the general public by the company's optimistic mascot, Vault Boy.

Every Fallout title takes place decades after the Great War - Fallout 76 is the closest at 25 years post-holocaust - and generally tells the story of the main character leaving a vault to venture out into the wasteland. Fallout 2 and New Vegas, however, focus on protagonists already living amongst the rubble. Regardless of the player's origin story, each game heavily features the vaults built by Vault-Tec (and some vaults built by Fallout players), whether they successfully flourished into post-war communities or the inhabitants were doomed in a variety of ways.

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Over two decades before the bombs fell, Vault-Tec won the bid for a grant from the U.S. government to construct fallout shelters to save the population from complete destruction. Vault-Tec constructed a number of control vaults, built specifically for the purpose of the inhabitants survival, but a majority of the vaults were designed to conduct a wide range of experiments on the humans inside, some resulting in super mutant populations or a vault filled with clones. Vault-Tec was commissioned for only 122 vaults, meaning a tiny fraction of the total U.S. population had even a chance at survival when the Great War commenced the morning of October 23, 2077.

Every Vault in the Fallout Universe

Of those 122 there were only 17 control Vaults. The other 105 hosted some form of experiment, ranging from mundane to sadistic. For instance, Vault 12's door was intentionally designed with a malfunction to monitor the effects of radiation, and created the large ghoul population of Necropolis in Fallout. Vault 95 in Fallout 4's Massachusetts was filled with people addicted to drugs and designed as a successful rehab facility; that is, until an undercover Vault-Tec employee revealed a hidden stash of drugs five years later, resulting in utter failure as the inhabitants spiraled into violent addiction.

All 122 vaults are not canonized in the Fallout games, leaving room for future growth in the series. Here is every known vault shown so far, including those without numbers:

  • Vault 3
  • Vault 8
  • Vault 11
  • Vault 12
  • Vault 13
  • Vault 15
  • Vault 17
  • Vault 19
  • Vault 21
  • Vault 22
  • Vault 29
  • Vault 34
  • Vault 51
  • Vault 63
  • Vault 75
  • Vault 76
  • Vault 77
  • Vault 79
  • Vault 81
  • Vault 87
  • Vault 88
  • Vault 92
  • Vault 94
  • Vault 95
  • Vault 96
  • Vault 101
  • Vault 106
  • Vault 108
  • Vault 111
  • Vault 112
  • Vault 114
  • Vault 118
  • Proof of concept vault in Los Angeles
  • An unfinished, unnumbered vault north of Vaults 13 and 15 in Fallout 2
  • Vault-Tec: Among the Stars exhibit at Nuka-World
  • Vault-Tec University Simulation Vault

Vaults 13, 76, 101, and 111 are the four vaults that players emerge from in the series, each with their own specialized purpose or experiment. The Fallout Wiki has a list of all known vaults in Fallout, as well as their respective purpose, outcome, and locations.

Next: New Fallout Game Teased By Xbox Exec

Source: Fallout Wiki