A supposed teaser site registered to ZeniMax Medi Inc. appeared last week causing many to speculate, based on its content and ownership, if it was the first glimpse of any kind of teaser for the fourth installment in the popular "Fallout" video game franchise. Following that reveal developer Bethesda Softworks has trademarked the title "Fallout 4" in Europe.
The website TheSurvivor2299.com was discovered by Reddit users, some of whom were able to identify the javascript code and specifically tie it to Fallout. They even went as far as to identify the page's morse code as a date, December 11, 2013. ZeniMax Media, according to IGN, owns the Bethesda developer/publisher divisions as the dominant owner. However, both Wolfenstein and The Elder Scrolls website domains were registered through Corporate Domains Inc. while TheSurvivor2299 was registered through GoDaddy.com.
While the news about a teaser website was spotty at best, a new patent from Bethesda has fueled the rumors that TheSurvivor2299 is in fact a real teaser for a real game. The Fallout 4 registration was discovered on the website of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Markets, which is the official trademark office of the European Union. It's worth noting that a patent trademark does not confirm the game's existence by itself. Neither does a teaser website that can be loosely tied back to the developer. However, both of these discoveries together, being occurring in such a small amount of time between one another, could indicate that the project is well on its way.
Bethesda has reportedly declined to comment on whether or not it owns TheSurvivor2299 website. We'll all have to wait until December 11, 2013 to know if the morse code on the website and the new patent in the European Union holds any water. Until then we'll stay on the lookout for any Fallout 4 clues.
