Almost a year has elapsed since the release of 'Fallout 3' and fans are now eagerly awaiting the next installment of this post-apocalyptic role-playing video game series developed by Interplay Entertainment. Following new developments, some fans now believe that 'Fallout 4' will be released sometime in 2015.

So far, there has been hardly any news about 'Fallout 4' from the developers. Nevertheless, the fans seem to be optimistic about the release of the fourth installment of the 'Fallout' franchise following Bethesda's recent move to apply for the patent of the Pip Boy gadget from the Fallout Universe by means of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Many fans were reluctant to believe this news, as these types of reports often turn out to be simply rumors, and later on are revealed as fake information.

However, this time, it was confirmed by none other than Bethesda. In a recent post, the company has said, "Not a hoax. Our filing. Just protecting our trademark. Also helps in dealing with infringement stuff."

In addition, Bethesda has also made it clear why the company bought the 'Fallout' series from Black Isle Studios.

Christian Today reports that Bethesda representative Pete Hines recently explained, "The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own Fallout is that we clearly intended to make more than one. This is not something we're going to do once and then go away and never do it again. When that will be or how long that will be God only knows, but we acquired it specifically because we wanted to own it and develop it and work on it like we do with The Elder Scrolls."

Apart from this explanation, Bethesda hasn't offered many details regarding the release of the upcoming installment, 'Fallout 4'.

During an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun in the beginning of 2014, the company game director Todd Howard said that the company actually does not have a timeframe for any game announcements. At the same time, Howard said that he is of the view that it still may take some more time before they actually announce a new game.

All this information notwithstanding, fans are still hoping that Bethesda will announce the 'Fallout 4' release as a pleasant surprise in the near future.