Newly discovered files from an old Xbox 360 dev kit uncover scrapped post-game content for Fallout: New Vegas, showing the robot Yes Man in a more sinister light. This revelation highlights a potential heel turn for the agreeable Securitron after the game's credits. The findings have reignited debates about the game's endings amid the Fallout TV series' narrative.
Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, faced content cuts during its production, including post-game elements. A recently unearthed Xbox 360 dev kit has provided insight into some of that discarded material, particularly concerning Yes Man, the modified Securitron originally tampered with by antagonist Benny.
In the released game, siding with Yes Man offers the nearest approximation to a morally positive outcome, allowing players to avoid aligning with major factions like Caesar's Legion or the NCR. However, Yes Man's loyalties have long been debated among fans, especially following the reappearance of Mr. House's Securitron, Victor, in the second season of the Fallout TV series. The series' first-season tease of New Vegas has sparked theories on the canon ending, with comments from project director Josh Sawyer and now this cut content pointing toward the Yes Man path as potentially official.
Lead writer John Gonzalez, in a recent PC Gamer interview, reflected critically on this storyline. "I think that questline may have been a mistake, because it lets you get through the game without getting your hands dirty," he said. Even in the final version, after defeating Legate Lanius—Caesar's Legion's second-in-command—Yes Man announces he will go offline to reprogram himself into a more "assertive" version, hinting at a shift where he might reject player commands, especially given his control over an army of armed Securitrons.
The cut dialogue, extracted from prototype builds, paints an even grimmer picture. On November 26 of last year, Games’ Past shared details of two such builds found on a dev kit in a Utah store, with contents uploaded online. Modders, as covered by Alternative Gaming Channel, restored hidden post-game lines. In one, Yes Man crudely tells the player to "fuck off" if they react negatively to his assertiveness. Another chilling snippet has him discussing the slaughter of New Vegas civilians, proposing to use "their blood and their skins" to decorate Securitrons, followed by an "Exterminate!" shout—possibly a Doctor Who nod triggerable via the Wild Wasteland perk.
These elements suggest that aiding Yes Man could prove as ethically fraught as other endings, aligning with the Mojave's uncertain fate depicted in the TV series.