Bethesda Denies Fallout 76 Will Go Free-To-Play

Bethesda, developer and publisher of Fallout 76, has denied the PS4, Xbox One, and PC game is going free-to-play. Rumors of the online title switching its payment model surfaced after consumers noted at least one retailer was no longer stocking standard versions of the game. However, it seems that was simply a decision made by the retailer to place greater emphasis on special editions.

Bethesda itself stated "there is no truth to this rumor," while Australian store EB Games confirmed it still planned on supporting the boxed edition of the game both in-store and online.

Fallout 76 launched in November, but was met with a somewhat negative critical reception. "Bethesda has stated it intends to continue supporting the game for a long time, but at launch, Fallout 76 is a poor experience," wrote Edmond Tran in GameSpot's own verdict. "There are echoes of the series' admirable qualities, but look past that facade, past the cute Vault Boy animations, past the familiar radio tracks, and you'll find no heart--just an inconsequential wasteland doomed to be nuked over and over again." For more, check out our full Fallout 76 review.

Bethesda has indeed continued to support the open-world game since launch, and the latest Fallout 76 update fixes a bunch of bugs. The publisher has also given away free copies of earlier Fallout titles to anyone who played 76 last year. It did, however, ban players who discovered a secret developer-only room inside the game.