Bethesda announces Fallout 76 – Here’s everything we know about it

Just yesterday Bethesda had posted teasers and “Please Stand By” updates to most of their social media. A similar campaign happened before the release of Fallout 4 as well but a vast majority of fans were only expecting a remaster or remake of either Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas.

Bethesda however, happens to have other plans. Here’s their official teaser trailer for Fallout 76.

Vault 76

This time our main protagonist seems to be a dweller of Vault 76. There’s been several mentions of the vault in other Fallout games. If you’re in any way familiar with Vault-Tec then you know that they’re not some humble welfare organization working to save humanity. Most of their vaults end up as experiments which don’t really lean towards the ethical side.

Vault 76 however, was not one of them. Here’s some details about the vault which we know of:

• Vault 76 was a control vault, meaning there weren’t any experiments going on behind the scenes. The vault’s only purpose was to protect the dwellers inside and to ensure that they survive the nuclear war.
• There were a total of 500 occupants in the Vault initially. Obviously this would’ve changed over the years as the vault was supposed to open 20 years after the nuclear war. The date on the Pip-Boy however, seems to point out that the game starts an additional 5 years after the vault had already opened.
• “Reclamation Day” seems to hint towards the vault dwellers leaving the vault and retaking the outdoors. As for whether or not this actually happens, we’ll find out soon enough.

Speculations

Bethesda themselves have always alternated between a new Elder Scrolls title and a Fallout one. Which has lead to speculations regarding Fallout 76 not being a “major” release. There are also concerns about the game not being a traditional role-playing game and instead involving multiplayer elements and we’ll be honest, no one wants that to happen. Bethesda has already learned their lesson from Elder Scrolls Online, we’re not likely to get a repeat of that without some major improvements.

As for the story, speculations seem to be that the vault dwellers who left initially didn’t return and our protagonist stayed behind for one reason or another. The teaser trailer does seem to hint that the decorations and everything else are “frozen” in time. Regardless of how the story plays out, the timeline is the most interesting part of this game as it will be set just after 20-25 years of the nuclear war.

We’re bound to see more radiation, even more mutations, or probably none at all. The outside might be uninhabitable for a vast majority of species so soon after a nuclear fallout. How would you feel if Bethesda decided to make a Battle Royale title for Fallout? Do you think it’ll turn out just as well as Elder Scrolls Online did?