Fallout 76’s Nuclear Winter battle royale mode canceled

By DeAngelo Epps June 11, 2021

Fallout 76’s battle royale mode, titled Nuclear Winter, will be permanently removed from the game in an upcoming September update, Bethesda announced through an official post. Bethesda says the reason behind the surprise removal is its dwindling popularity with players.

This battle royale game type is a relatively recent addition to Fallout 76 that throws 52 players on a map where they must fight to survive in a nuclear wasteland. It follows many of the usual tropes and staples of the genre.

Bethesda says that this has resulted in sacrifices on match wait times and difficulty in adding meaningful updates for the mode. Nuclear Winter players will be reimbursed perk coins based on their Overseer rank and tickets, and their Nuclear Winter rewards are being added to Adventure mode.

Fallout 76 isn’t the only title that is getting away from battle royale gameplay. Respawn Entertainment recently said it would be moving its popular game Apex Legends beyond the standard royale. The game’s new Arenas mode is more in line with games like Valorant and Counter Strike.

Amid this news concerning the genre, Battlefield 2042 will not feature a battle royale mode at launch either, despite many players expecting one. The game instead is focusing on the classic team-based multiplayer due to a lack of support for Battlefield 5’s battle royale mode, called Firestorm.

After so many years, the battle royale bubble could very well be popping, with these various developers and game studios moving away from the genre due to the declining numbers of players.

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De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…

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