Bethesda’s poorly received ‘Fallout 76’ won’t be going free to play

By Gabe Gurwin Published April 25, 2023

Earlier this week, we heard rumors that Bethesda had begun removing Fallout 76 from store shelves in certain regions, apparently in preparation for the online role-playing game to transition to a free-to-play business model. Despite the game’s recent troubles, however, Bethesda will not be doing this anytime soon.

Recommended Videos

Responding to an upset fan concerned about the game going free-to-play just months after excited players had purchased it, the Bethesda Twitter account said there was “no truth” to the rumor.

There is no truth to this rumor.

— Bethesda (@bethesda) January 22, 2019

Though the game will still be available for sale, it has had its price cut significantly from the $60 it cost at launch. As early as November 24, the price on Amazon was cut to just $35. It’s currently Buy at Amazon on the platform — still far above what Fallout 4 will set you back.

As something of a concession, Bethesda announced in December that anyone who logged into Fallout 76 before the end of 2018 would receive the Fallout Classic Collection, which contains Fallout, Fallout Tactics, and Fallout 2. Despite this collection being on PC, the offer applies to anyone who played the game across PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One.

Fallout 76‘s problems began almost immediately after it launched in November, with Twitch viewership statistics showing that it wasn’t holding attention the way Fallout 4 did in 2015. Even worse, the launch numbers were actually worse than they had been during the B.E.T.A. period, suggesting viewers had seen enough of the game and were ready to move on to something new. Piles of game merchandise went unsold at local retailers we visited, as well.

Though the bugs, lack of content, and issues with cheating and exploiting in Fallout 76 have all received criticism, not everyone is so down on the game, or at least the potential it holds. Digital Trends’ Matt Smith sees potential for the game to re-emerge much like No Man’s Sky did after radically improving its basic gameplay systems to the point of being unrecognizable. Bethesda has certain made major improvements in its games before, particularly with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but achieving Fallout 76‘s redemption will be its toughest challenge yet.

Fallout 76 is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Former Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Topics

Gaming

All Teddy Bear locations in Fallout 76

A teddy bear in a train station in Fallout 76.

There's no shame in admitting that you enjoy the company of a teddy bear in Fallout 76 over the ghouls and mutants. In fact, we would probably prefer spending time finding these cuddly bears than playing with the other players, but these stuffed animals are a rare commodity in the wasteland. Technically, these are classified as a junk item that you can break down for materials, but who would do something like that? These are great display items to make your camp feel more like home, or just another annoying daily task you need to complete. Whatever your motivations are, here is where you can find each of the different teddy bear variations in Fallout 76.
All teddy bear locations
There are 12 different variations of teddy bears that all have a distinct color pattern, name, and value, but are otherwise identical. Like most items, they can be found in a ton of places around the map, but these are the easiest spots to get the one you're looking for.
Bubblegum Bear

Our first bear is going to be inside the Foundation. Once inside, go to Ward's trailer and pick it up off the couch.
Camden Park Bears

Gaming

The best Fallout 76 mods

Fallout 76 covered in snow.

It's fair to say that Fallout 76 wasn't exactly what fans were hoping for when it launched. Instead of being a single-player RPG like Fallout 4, 3, and New Vegas, 76 was a pseudo MMO where you joined multiplayer servers to play in a persistent world. A multiplayer Falloutsounds great on paper, but the execution wasn't what people were looking for. Many years and updates later, the game is in a far better state, but not quite up to the standard of some hardcore fans. However, Bethesda games are among the most famous for the quality of mods made for them, and at this point, there are thousands of mods available for Fallout 76. We've scoured every inch of Appalachia to collect only the best Fallout 76 mods.
Ultimist's High Detailed Map Plus

The default map in Fallout 76 looks ripped right out of a tourist's guide. That's cool for theming and everything, but not so useful when trying to find anything besides major locations. The map is surprisingly bare in detail considering how much walking around and exploring you do. Ultimist's High Detailed Map Plus rips up that old map and replaces it with a much more detailed and appealing map to navigate. It marks all the normal locations you need, plus every vendor and 440 resource deposits (which you can toggle on or off to reduce clutter). It might not sound like a big deal, but any Fallout fan knows how much time you spend on the map menu.
Better Inventory

Gaming

Fallout 4 is finally getting free Xbox Series X and PS5 upgrades

New Fallout 4 Creation Club mod content coming with the Xbox Series X and PS5 launch.

Bethesda has confirmed that the current-gen update for Fallout 4 will finally release on April 25.

That's good timing, as a Fallout TV show just released on Amazon Prime this month to positive buzz. Fallout 4 came out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One in 2015, and this definitely looks like it will be the most substantial update the game has received since its last expansion was released.