Nvidia Creates Its Own ‘Fallout 4’ Mod Called ‘Vault 1080’

The Fallout series has been home to some of the most iconic and creative mods in PC history, with creators making everything from simple retextures to all-out epic quests. However, history might have just been made when Nvidia made a mod of its own called “Vault 1080.”

The case of the graphics chip maker creating a mod for a game is an odd event, mostly because mod creators are usually composed of players of the games. Sure, some of them have excellent programming skills with the creativity to match, but mod authors are generally considered average people. In comparison, Nvidia is a multinational company that employs dozens of professional coders. Any mod they make would immediately set high expectations.

As Polygon notes, “Vault 1080” is a mod that features graphical improvements and a new quest line that borders on creepy. With regards to the former, this is only to be expected as Nvidia did build its business on the premise of excellent graphics. For the latter, Fallout games have been known to have disturbing content, and they contribute to the overall appeal of the game.

Now, the mod itself was made by Nvidia LightSpeed Studios, which is a division of the company that remakes or remasters classic games on the PC, and ports them over to mobile platforms. The team delivered the improved visuals via the company’s own horizon-based ambient occlusion plus (HBAO+) tech to boost things like lighting and shadows.

As for the quest itself, Engadget reports that it takes an hour to complete and involves finding the vault and discovering what happened inside. For the purpose of avoiding spoilers, only a general description of the inhabitants of the vault is provided, which paints them as dwellers who “embraces the darkness and sickness.” The inhabitants supposedly did this to survive, though this is only what they convinced themselves to believe.