Fallout 76 is an online game, and you can nuke other players

Finally detailed at Bethesda's E3 showcase, Fallout 76 is indeed a multiplayer survival game, confirming rumors surrounding the prequel's recent reveal. 

Director of Bethesda Game Studios Todd Howard took the stage to explain the new direction for Fallout, addressing concerns from those expecting the usual singleplayer RPG the studio is known for. 

Always online, new rendering technology

"Of course you can play this solo. You'll be who you want, exploring a huge world doing quests, experiencing a story, and leveling up," explained Howard. Don't expect much in the way of NPC character interactions though. While we can't exactly confirm it, Howard's langauge implies NPCs (besides our personal robot butlers) will be a no-show. "Open world. Survival. Every person, or character, is real."

So while we can expect a massive open world four times bigger than Fallout 4, it definitely won't be as civilized. However, there will be plenty of "real" characters to interact with. Just don't expect to run into them every few minutes. "You'll be in a world with dozens, not hundreds, not thousands of other players," said Howard. 

We wouldn't expect to get along with everyone though. Some particular locations on the map will inspire fear and greed in the most gallant of players. "We love dynamic game systems," said Howard. "So we thought, why don’t we put multiple nuclear missile sites on the map, and then let all of you do whatever you want with them?"

The world will also feature six distinct regions with their own flora and fauna. Smell the roses and pet the local mutant dogs between nuclear obliteration panic attacks. 

Fallout 76 is built using new tech, and it shows. "We always start with the world, and this time it features all new rendering, lighting, and landscape technology," said Howard. It's certainly looking better than the typical Gamebyro fare, but we'll wait until release to pass judgement. 

New creatures inspired by local folklore

The Wendigo

During a montage showing off the new West Virginia setting, Howard also teased a few new creatures we'll see. Among them were ghoulish toads and bugs, and a massive flying creature that might be familiar to those in the area. 

"We even used the folklore of West Virginia to bring our Fallout versions [of monsters] to life," Howard said. So if you got a Mothman vibe from the big flying guy, you likely weren't off base.

Building is back, dedicated servers coming

Speaking of bases, the settlement building system is back, streamlined for multiplayer. You'll be able to build using tools similar to those in Fallout 4, but plopping down a house doesn't mean you're committing to the land. "You can build wherever you want. And you can pack up and move that wherever you want," said Howard. Early comparisons to Rust weren't totally inaccurate, but based on what we know so far, Fallout 76 will be much more player friendly. 

Howard backs up the assertion: "People wonder if this is hardcore survival. I like to think of it, maybe, this is more softcore survival"

Player friendliness extends to the back-end too. The platform will feature 100% dedicated servers and an an incoming beta. 

It's coming out this year

A release date was also announced, and it's pretty soon: November 14, 2018. 

We'll be poring through everything Bethesda showed, collecting everything we know about Fallout 76 in one place.

TOPICS
James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles. 

Latest in Fallout
Male and Female Vault Dweller holding guns and cresting a hill with ruined city in background
The New Vegas remake of the Fallout 3 that never was just got its first demo, not to be confused with the straight-up remake of the cancelled Fallout 3 or, indeed, Fallout 3
Lucy smiling while using her pip boy
Ella Purnell dreads being typecast for her 'poop finger' in Fallout: 'This finger is the bane of my life'
Fallout 76 - a player in a vault suit gives a thumbs up
Fallout 76's former project lead says it's still his favourite game he worked on, but the initial reception was demoralising: 'I got yelled at in an Apple Store, I'll never forget'
Mortimer Goth swanning around inside a New Vegas casino built inside the Sims 2
A Fallout: New Vegas fan is so fed up waiting for a remake he's decided to do it himself. The twist? He's making it in the Sims 2
Maybe I'll finally stop getting lost in Fallout: New Vegas' Bison Steve Hotel thanks to this new minimap mod
A jumpsuit-clad Lucy, played by Ella Purnell, emerges from a vault in the Fallout TV series.
Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins sure are excited for everyone to see Fallout season 2: 'No one's going to be able to predict what happens. There's some big twists this time around'
Latest in News
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close
Valve soldier man on a pc.
2024 was Steam's 'best year ever' of users buying newly released games—but I wouldn't celebrate the end of the forever game era just yet
Money money money.
Valve tracked 1.7 million Steam users who joined in 2023 to see if they stuck around—they did, and they spent $93 million
Closeup of the new Copilot key coming to Windows 11 PC keyboards
Microsoft co-authored paper suggests the regular use of gen-AI can leave users with a 'diminished skill for independent problem-solving' and at least one AI model seems to agree
A lolporrit squeals in excitement while being driven in a moon buggie in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, patch 7.2.
Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2's trailer has me finally hyped to get stuck back in—and to go to the moon and pilot some mechs, because why not