Bethesda held its first-ever Fallout Day broadcast to reveal more about what’s to come for Fallout 76.
Today, October 23, is Fallout Day because in Fallout lore, World War I began and ended on October 23, 2077, when nuclear weapons destroyed the world. However, there were no explosive announcements regarding the new Fallout game or Fallout 5’s Megaton information. Bethesda said it is probably in development after The Elder Scrolls 6. Instead, Bethesda developers talked about new features for MMO Fallout 76.
Bethesda said at the beginning of the broadcast that more players are playing Fallout this year than ever before, with record numbers for nearly every title in the series. Fallout 76 is now six years old and has over 20 million players. This figure was reached earlier this year thanks to the explosive popularity of Prime Video’s Fallout TV show. In conjunction with Fallout Day, Bethesda has announced that you can play Fallout 76 for free until October 29th as part of Free Play Week.
Fallout 76 will be free to play until October. Image source: Bethesda.
As for new features, Fallout 76 will finally be bringing camping pets later this year. This feature starts with two pets: a cat and a dog. You guessed it, you can pet it. But in addition to interacting with your camping pet, you can also dress your pet and place furniture, such as a scratching post or a pile of dirt filled with bones, for your pet to enjoy. Bethesda has hinted that new pets will be added later, “and perhaps some that aren’t as furry.”
Player titles will also be available in December. These include prefixes and suffixes that can be combined to create nicknames. Player titles can be earned as rewards.
Endgame players will have access to the upcoming Gleaming Depths raid. Image source: Bethesda.
For endgame players, the upcoming Gleaming Depths raid is a traditional MMO-style dungeon set to challenge the hardcore. Bethesda added that you need to be level 300 or higher and need an organized and well-equipped team of up to four players to have a chance of progressing. This raid is set in an abandoned Enclave laboratory and features a final boss named Ultracite Terror, who is basically a giant irradiated snake.
Elsewhere, 4-star Legendaries are coming to Fallout 76, offering the highest level of weapons and armor in the game.
As Bethesda has announced, you’ll be able to transform into a ghoul for the first time in Fallout history in early 2025. During the Fallout Day broadcast, Bethesda showed off Ghoul gameplay and revealed how it works.
After the Ghostificaiton quest, you won’t have to worry about radiation damage. Image source: Bethesda.
Once you reach level 50 and complete the ghoulization quest, you no longer need to worry about radiation, as you will no longer take damage from it. In fact, Rad heals you and unlocks unique abilities. This also means you don’t have to worry about needing to eat to live, but instead of hunger and thirst, you’ll now have a new wild meter to monitor.
Going feral has some unique perks, including transforming into a mad berserker, a hand-to-hand combatant who can “rip the face off a deathclaw.” Ghoul-specific perk cards include Battle-Genes (increase by 1HP every second in combat). Bethesda said it expects Ghoul to open up dozens of new playstyles, given how different its mechanics are.
There are also unique story options that revolve around different factions’ hatred of ghouls. For example, the Brotherhood of Steel hates ghouls, so expect a tough fight from them. For ghoul players who want to complete story quests with factions that don’t normally ally with ghouls, “there may be a way to trick them,” Bethesda teased. If you don’t like being a ghoul, you can turn back into a human. Bethesda said that when ghouls are introduced in Fallout 76, expect to see ghoul parades and ghoul camps.
If you don’t like being a ghoul, you can always turn back into a human. Image source: Bethesda.
And finally, Bethesda teased fishing in Fallout 76. This is a feature that players have been requesting to add to the game for years.
The Fallout Day broadcast ended with Bethesda head of development Todd Howard thanking fans for their support and saying that despite working on the series for 20 years, the studio is looking forward to more Fallouts. .
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find me on Twitter @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
