Fallout 76 Dev Acknowledges "Frustrating Issues;" New Updates Planned For Years To Come

While Fallout 76 might not have gone over so well with critics, the game has already reached "millions" of players, Bethesda announced today. The title hasn't necessarily sold that many copies, but it's still a notable achievement. What's more, those who are playing are playing "a lot," Bethesda stated in a blog post in which it also outlined plans to support the title in the future.

The developer said it's been following the feedback surrounding Fallout 76, and acknowledged that players are experiencing "a number of frustrating issues." In response to this, Bethesda said it plans to releases fixes and add new features "on a regular basis," while changes based on player feedback will also be implemented down the road.

Additionally, Bethesda said it has an "incredible list" of updates planned for Fallout 76, some of which will comprise new quests and events, as well as more Vaults, a faction-based PvP system, and more. "We're confident, with your support, we can make Fallout 76 an incredible experience for years to come," Bethesda said.

Previously, Bethesda boss Pete Hines said he expects Fallout 76's servers to stay online until the sun burns out and humankind is swept into dust.

The first of Fallout 76's major post-release updates will arrive on December 4. This update will increase the game's Stash limit, while also delivering new performance and stability improvements, as well as balance changes and some bug fixes. The full patch notes are coming later, but for now you can read a summary of the main points below, as written by Bethesda.

December 4 Patch Highlights

• Stash Limit Increased: We know many of you have been asking for an adjustment to the Stash storage limit, and we're happy to share that we’re increasing it from 400 to 600. While this is somewhat conservative, we plan to increase the storage cap further once we verify that this change will not negatively impact the stability of the game.
• Boss Loot: Players should correctly receive two to three items after taking down a boss, depending on the creature's difficulty and level.
• Cryolator Effects: Players hit with the Cryolator are now Chilled, Frosted, or Frozen depending on how many times they are hit. The duration of movement speed reductions applied by these effects have also been decreased from 2 hours to 30 seconds.
• Respawning When Overencumbered: We've resolved an issue affecting players who die while overencumbered that only allowed them to Respawn at Vault 76. Now, overencumbered players will be able to respawn at the nearest discovered Map Marker.
• Stuck in Power Armor: We've addressed an issue in this patch that could cause players to become stuck inside Power Armor. We’re also aware that there are some additional cases where this can occur, and we are actively investigating them.

A week later on December 11, Bethesda will release the next Fallout 76 update that will include even more bug fixes, as well as new features like the ability respec your SPECIAL and push-to-talk voice chat on PC. What's more, a bulldozer will be added to Camp that lets you remove trees, rocks, and other obstacles in your way.

December 11 Patch Highlights

• PC Additions: A Push-to-Talk setting for Voice Chat, 21:9 resolution support, and a Field of View setting are all being implemented on PC with this update.
• SPECIAL Respec: After level 50, you’ll be able to choose between a new Perk Card, or moving a SPECIAL point you had previously allocated.
• C.A.M.P. Placement on Login: Your C.A.M.P. will no longer be automatically blueprinted and stored if someone is occupying your location when you log into a server. Instead, you’ll receive a notification that your space is occupied. If you decide to find a new home for your C.A.M.P. on that server, it will be free to do so. However, if you don’t attempt to place down your C.A.M.P., you will be able to switch to a new server where that spot is vacant and your C.A.M.P. will be fully assembled and waiting for you.
• Bulldozer: This is a new C.A.M.P. feature that will allow you to remove small trees, rocks, and other obstructions so it’s easier to create and place your C.A.M.P. when and where you want it. You can also "Bulldoze" to clear these items from the surrounding area to make your C.A.M.P. feel more like home!

Also in the blog post, Bethesda acknowledged the concerns people had about the first patch for Fallout 76 that was more than 40 GB in size on some platforms. Future patches should be smaller, Bethesda said, though the developer shared no details on the degree to which they may be smaller. The developer also warned that the updates could get delayed based on a number of factors.

Fallout 76 was heavily discounted on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which suggests the game might not be performing so well commercially, but that's just speculation.