As beloved of a franchise as Fallout is, it isn’t without its flaws. This much has always been clear to fans, but Todd Howard himself has acknowledged this as well. Specifically, this is in reference to the controversial launch of Fallout 76, the online entry of the series that came out back in 2018. Over two years later, the game is very different now than when it first launched, but in an interview with The Guardian, Howard discusses the game’s early days and how fans were affected by its lackluster launch. This type of thing isn’t terribly surprising, but it is nice to see a big name like Howard address it.
For those that don’t know, Fallout 76 is Bethesda’s first attempt at a fully online Fallout game. It had done similar things with Elder Scrolls Online in the past, but this would be different in a number of ways. For starters, Fallout 76 had no NPCs of any kind, with the only people players could encounter being other players or enemies. This and other issues have been addressed since the initial launch, with updates such as the Wastelanders and Steel Dawn updates really helping to flesh out the game.
In his exact words, Howard stated that “We [Bethesda] let a lot of people down” in regards to Fallout 76, but went on to say that he feels confident that Bethesda has redeemed the game since then with all of the positive changes it received. Concerning the more broad issue of multiplayer in Bethesda games as a whole, Howard’s stance is interesting and will likely affect how multiplayer is handled moving forward.
First, he makes it clear that Bethesda is a big fan of singleplayer games, as that is what the studio is most known for. On a similar note, he comments that even with games that are intended to be fully multiplayer, there will always be players that want to play that game in singleplayer without other players causing distractions. This is possible in Elder Scrolls Online, but trying to do so in Fallout 76 early on would likely have been rather boring. With this statement, it may be that Howard and Bethesda as a whole will aim to creating engaging multiplayers games while still ensuring that they are just as fun in singleplayer.
The poor reception of Fallout 76 has been well documented, but this is less true for its redemption arc. The work that Bethesda has put into making Fallout 76 an enjoyable and fresh experience is certainly much appreciated, and it is a breath of fresh air to hear someone as high up as Howard outright admit the game’s failure at launch. For those that haven’t checked out Fallout 76 since its rocky launch, now’s a great time to do so as the title is a huge hit on Xbox Game Pass. There’s no such thing as too late when it comes to video games, as many titles before Fallout 76 like Final Fantasy 14 or No Man’s Sky have proven to be amazing with a little bit of extra work put into them
Fallout 76 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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