Fallout 76 has been a very mysterious game since the moment it was announced. It’s an online-only Fallout game that isn’t an MMO and features a story, so how the hell does it work?
Bethesda has been giving us new details since Sunday night with a new in-depth documentary that released tonight, showcasing new gameplay elements and the story behind its development. As of right now, we know it’ll feature 24 – 32 players per “server” (there’s no server select, you just load into the world like a normal Fallout game) and they’ve had to refine some elements of Fallout to make it feel more like an online survival game.
One nugget that stuck out to us during the documentary was that there will indeed be microtransactions in Fallout 76. Bethesda stressed these are purely cosmetic microtransactions and they are essential to help keep the game running for an extended amount of time and keep DLC free instead of selling them as paid expansions.
As for what is planned post-launch, they’ll be rolling out consistent small content updates with big ones mapped out over longer intervals according to development director Chris Mayer in the new documentary.
“The plans are still coming together but we do have a plan. The plan is to have part of the team support the game, roll out as much content updates to keep the game fresh. If you’ve been around live games, they live or die by how fast you can get updates out. We need to be able to push decent updates out at a regular rate, at the same time having some of the team working on big content beats. Something a little bit larger for people to consume and have those hit at longer intervals.”
That’s the plan but Mayer stated that obviously plans can change depending on how players react to the game once they’ve played it.
It’s unclear what kind of cosmetics they’ll be selling but they’ll be able to earn through gameplay. It’s unclear they’ll be available day one but it sounds like Bethesda is keeping everything in check to avoid any controversy and to ensure this major venture doesn’t leave anyone with a sour taste in their mouth.
