I believe that, if I were pressed, I would have to declare the Bethesda Fallout / Elder Scrolls games to be my favorite games in existence. I love the broad adventure, the exciting storylines, the open-world nature, the sheer feeling of adventure all packaged in a first person shooter that doesn't nauseate me to play. I'm not alone in this assessment, though others may have other reasons. This much was already pretty clear, but if it weren't, a new development in the series might well be all anyone could need: speculation about the fourth game fired up anew by a piece of merchandise recently appearing in the Bethesda Store.

Fallout 4's existence had been all but confirmed in recent days with the revelation of a trailer in the works, but now some are wondering about the content of such a title with the appearance of a new pendant for sale, a sterling silver Brotherhood of Steel insignia, the gears-and-sword prominent above a laurel.

This alone would mean little, except for the timing; why bother to bring out a piece of new merchandise for a title that no one's seen anything new about in years if there weren't some kind of planned release? Some have noted that Bethesda has been bringing out Fallout merch fairly regularly even since the conclusion of Fallout: New Vegas, however, and that's a point to note. However, the Brotherhood of Steel insignia has some thinking.

It's been rumored, in the past, that this time we're going out to Boston to get a handle on the Institute and assorted other things that have been going on around the Capital Wasteland area. These rumors were supported by the appearance of Bethesda staffers in the area, possibly scouting locations. We know that the Capital Wasteland has a Brotherhood of Steel presence, though it's somewhat tarnished; it may have saved the Capital Wasteland from the Enclave, but it's regarded by some elements as having "gone native," putting the people of the Capital Wasteland ahead of the Brotherhood's mission of finding and preserving technology. We also know that the Capital Wasteland chapter controls what's left of Liberty Prime, the massive super-robot that shattered Enclave forces before the Enclave took it down with orbital missile launches. Knowing what we know about the Institute thanks to our time in Fallout 3, we know that the Institute might well be something of a foil to the Brotherhood, possessing--and maybe even developing--technology sufficiently advanced to be of interest to, or even rival, the Brotherhood's own. That's the kind of thing that would have to--by extension of the story itself--draw the Brotherhood's attention on at least some level.

Thus the inevitable question: what if this release of a Brotherhood pendant, set to hit the store June 30 for a whopping $110, is a parallel to what's going to hit in the game, focusing on the Brotherhood of Steel going after the Institute? That would be a noteworthy parallel to Fallout: New Vegas' faction-based play. You could side with the Institute, side with the Brotherhood, or potentially even side with neither and free the Commonwealth--where the Institute is located--from the Institute's overweening control.

All speculation, of course, the kind of thing designed to spark the imagination as we return for a shortened week at work. It's going to be Bethesda's official word that says one way or another, and with its official conference a little less than three weeks out on June 14, we should find out one way or another. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully, you are too.