Just half a dozen months or so since it was first announced, days prior to E3 earlier this year, Fallout 76 has now officially been released. The game is now available to download and play on all three platforms; PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. PC players had an unexpected bonus yesterday when the game launched early on the platform for no known reason. Nonetheless, today is the actual official release date.
Happy #ReclamationDay!
Remember your Vault-Tec training and enjoy your first steps in exploring and rebuilding Appalachia. #Fallout76 is available now! pic.twitter.com/dxU0VYguF7
— Fallout (@Fallout) November 14, 2018
Fallout 76 is Now Available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4
Compared to most triple-A games, the time between Fallout 76’s announcement and release was very short. Most major titles are announced 1-2 years prior to launch. Some, like Cyberpunk 2077, are announced many years before. Nonetheless, Fallout 76 was announced just a few months ago. As of today, the ambitious new title is available to play. Though many who pre-ordered the game have already played the game in its recent BETA; plenty of other gamers will be playing for the first time today and in the days soon to come.
Fallout 76 may be the most ambitious Fallout title since the release of Fallout 3; Bethesda’s first entry in the series, which radically changed many core gameplay elements. Although the structural changes are less drastic this time, it does mark a major first for Bethesda Game Studios; Fallout 76 is the first Fallout or Elder Scrolls game ever released by the studio featuring multiplayer. Although The Elder Scrolls: Online does, of course, feature multiplayer. However, that game was made by ZeniMax Online Studios rather than Bethesda itself.
There has been speculation among fans that Fallout 76’s purpose is merely to tide players over until the release of Starfield. When it comes to this theory, it’s hard to be conclusive. On the one hand, Fallout 76 is similar to Fallout 4 in many respects, and it’s known that Starfield has already been in development for several years. On the other, Fallout 76 clearly includes some of Bethesda’s most ambitious new gameplay elements, and a huge amount of content. Todd Howard has been clear that the game is a spin-off; fans may yet see a “Fallout 5” at some stage in the future. As for today, fans now have free reign to discover for themselves just how big Fallout 76 really is.