If you were already wary of Fallout 76 when details of the game first emerged at E3 2018, this latest piece of news news will probably alienate you even further. Thanks to the Fallout 76 Beta FAQ recently released by Bethesda, we now know that the upcoming game won’t be available on Steam when it launches on November 10, 2018. Instead, fans will have to purchase it exclusively on Bethesda.net.
When approached by PCGamer, Bethesda confirmed that Fallout 76 won’t be available on Steam, which is one of the world’s biggest and most popular digital distribution platforms. A representative from the developer stated: “The PC version of Fallout 76, for both the B.E.T.A. and the launch, will be available only via Bethesda.net, not on Steam.” That’s a bold move on Bethesda’s part, as players will have no choice but to use the developer’s own launcher.
The Fallout 76 Beta FAQ also revealed that players will actually gain access to the full game during the beta. The player’s progress will be saved for when the game officially launches. It will also be free of an NDA, which means that players are free to post screenshots or even stream the game. That’s a great bit of incentive for those already feeling soured by the fact that they will be forced to use the company’s launcher to play the game. The Fallout 76 Beta will arrive sometime in October 2018.
In other related news, Bethesda global marketing and communications SVP Pete Hines confirmed last month that Fallout 76 won’t feature any NPCs at all. For a franchise that has always contain traditional RPG elements, that might seem weird. Hines said that there are systems in place for players who are afraid of the game becoming a senseless free-for-all battle royale, as he describes the game as still very much being an RPG filled with quests and exploration.
