Bethesda launches its online role-playing gameFallout 76this November, and the studio will hold a beta test beforehand to give players a chance to play it early if they’ve pre-ordered the full game. Those playerswon’thave to restart their character when launch day comes, either, as Bethesda isplanning to have beta progresstransfer over.
Bethesdasaid on its FAQ pageforFallout 76that this is the “current” plan, so it’s possible that things could change down the line and you’ll have to start a fresh save file. However, given how close to the game’s launch the beta test will be, it seems unlikely that any major tweaks would limit the compatibility of files — particularly if data is stored on Bethesda’s end.
Since the beta will include the “full”Fallout 76game, you’ll be able to make as much progress as you want. What exactly this means remains unclear at the moment, as the spin-off relies heavily on players’ interactions with each other.
For the first chance to play theFallout 76beta you’ll have to be on Xbox One. It will come to PlayStation 4 and PC afterward, but no solid date has been nailed down for any of them yet.
Interestingly, neither theFallout 76beta nor the full game will be available on Steam, with Bethesda insteadchoosing to release them only on its own store. Given the massive popularity of the franchise, Bethesda likely isn’t worried about visibility, but the publisher hasused Steam extensivelyfor its games in the past.Skyrimeven remainsone of the best-selling gameson the platform in 2018.
Bethesda isn’t the only company that has chosen to move away from Steam recently. Activision-Blizzard releasedDestiny 2on Battle.net rather than Steam last year, and the company is planning to do so withCall of Duty: Black Ops 4in December, as well. Epic Games uses its own platform forFortnite,as well, and the company willeven avoid the Google Play storewhen the Android version launches.
Fallout 76will release on November 14 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. We’ll be humming John Denver songs and preparing for the apocalypse until it finally releases.
