Bethesda’s latest big game in the Fallout franchise has proven to be a different style of project that fans are used too.
Not only will Fallout 76 be an online-only game, but it also looks to expand the game into one area that the series has never handled before, that of multiplayer action.
The Fallout 76 beta will certainly be an interesting time for the company, revealing just how the beloved action RPG plays in a new arena.
There has been some talk recently about how the game may have single-player servers, although this hasn’t been confirmed as a final product.
But we do know is that Fallout 76 isn’t necessarily a nod toward how Bethesda will be doing business in the future.
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There’s no denying that service-based gaming is now huge and a very lucrative part of the market that has had a huge impact on the market.
But while Fallout 76 will slot into this with other such games, it doesn’t mean it’s the first of many projects like this from Bethesda.
“It doesn’t mark the future,” game director Todd Howard tells GamesIndustry.biz.
“Corporately we’ve done a mix; people forget sometimes. Elder Scrolls Online is one of the biggest online games in the world, we have Fallout Shelter which we keep updating, and Elder Scrolls: Legends.
“Anyone who has ever said ‘this is the future, and this part of gaming is dead’ has been proven wrong every single time.
“We like to try it all. For a long time, we wanted to try a multiplayer game, and we had this idea. We shouldn’t be afraid. We should try it.”
We’re slowly finding out more about the game before its eventual release date in November. However, fans are still waiting to find out when the Fallout 76 beta will start.
Like many significant multiplayer experiences in the past, Bethesda will need to stress-test the servers before pushing the game live.
The chance of problems during release is high, and the development team will want all the help they can get with improving the experience.
And some big news on how vital the Fallout 76 beta could be for fans hoping to make it their main game has just been released.
That’s because according to game director Todd Howard, the studio may keep progress from the stress-test phase.
Breaking with tradition, Bethesda is hoping to avoid server wipes if possible, meaning the Fallout 76 beta could be massive for fans.
Speaking to Italian website Multiplayer.it, Howard revealed that the beta will come in phases, and could skip having to reset the servers, due to it being the final version of the game.
Pre-ordering Fallout 76 is the only way to get access to the beta, which is set to run on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
But there’s also one other crucial fact that Bethesda has announced before the big launch.
The Fallout 76 beta release date will be slightly different on the Xbox One.
In the official FAQ posted by Bethesda on their site, the Fallout 76 beta will go live first on the Xbox One.
There’s been no mention of any big exclusive deal between Bethesda and Microsoft so it will be worth seeing just how this plays out later this year.
For those waiting to find out if Bethesda has any bigger plans for the Fallout 76 beta, there’s been no mention so far of an open beta.
Another interesting tidbit of information to surface this week concerns Bethesda’s free-to-play mobile game, Fallout Shelter.
Having launched the title on most major platforms, Howard revealed that it was heading to China, and would have a slightly different format.
Speaking about the company’s new range of mobile games, such as Elder Scrolls Blades, Howard also reveals more about an online Fallout Shelter project:
“We’re working with Shanda Games in China, which is doing an online version of Fallout Shelter there, so we’ve made some inroads.
“I think Blades, whereas it’s not built for China per se, knowing their gaming tastes, it is definitely applicable in China and other parts of the world where Fallout Shelter and some other things we do are maybe not as much.
“It’s one of those things where if you look at Chinese games, people will tell you they need to be like this, they need to have this art style they need to have crap all over the screen… But Blades, there’s nothing else like it, but I view that as a positive to whatever market it’s in.”