For the first time ever for one of their core RPG releases, Bethesda is planning to hold a Fallout 76 public beta. The beta was announced by Todd Howard during Bethesda’s E3 presentation. Very little is known about it thus far; however, it seems likely that its purpose is to test the game’s new multiplayer functions.
We’re blown away by the response to the B.E.T.A. Still sorting out the details but we’ll start letting you break-it in October. First on XB1, then PS4 and PC. #PleaseStandBy https://t.co/3XIR7grard pic.twitter.com/YQISJvis0P
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) July 23, 2018
The Fallout 76 Public Beta
Bethesda’s recent tweet doesn’t confirm the exact start date yet. The company still has yet to announce exactly when the Fallout 76 public beta will begin. What it did confirm, however, was the month that it will launch. The public beta will begin sometime in October. The full game is due to release on the 14th of November. Thus, while it’s possible that the beta could occur at any point during October, it seems more likely to be earlier rather than later; if there are any bugs or problems found, the developers will need adequate time to fix them before release. The sooner the beta launches, the more time the developers will have.
Bethesda’s tweet also makes mention of another peculiarity of the public beta; the event is due to start one week earlier on Xbox One than on PlayStation 4 and PC. Bethesda hasn’t given a specific reason for this. However, the most likely one is that the studio is intentionally staggering the beta’s launch so that the developers can focus on fixing problems system-by-system. Given that Bethesda has so far announced no other partnerships or deals with Microsoft, it seems unlikely that the earlier release is any sort of intentional perk for Xbox users.
The Fallout 76 public beta will be players’ first chance to see and experience the game’s multiplayer firsthand. There are still a lot of unanswered questions concerning the new feature; while both Todd Howard and Pete Hines have offered fans reassurances, players may need to experience the system for themselves before they can make up their minds about whether they approve of Bethesda’s decision or not.