Fallout 76: Atlantic City is coming later this year.
Bethesda came onto the Xbox Tokyo Game Show presentation that the next Fallout 76 expansion was coming on December of this year.
Originally released in 2018, Fallout 76 faced an unusual mass of controversies for even a Bethesda game. The first online multiplayer installment of the Fallout franchise launched at a state so broken that it may have been considered unplayable, but there was more than that.
There were fans who considered Fallout 76’s actual game design broken as well, and that sentiment carried over to gamers. As of 2022, had a reported 13.5 million players, making it a healthy game. Even if Phil Spencer admitted to considering killing the game at one point because of a lack of players, Bethesda were able to turn it around.
We won’t litigate all of the Fallout 76 launch controversies here. Several preorder physical goodies, such as a rum bottle, helmet, and duffel bag, arrived to customers in mediocre condition, and in most cases, arrived months late or didn’t arrive at all. A data breach also happened in December 2018, compromising customer data for everyone who made a support ticket. Allegations also arose that Fallout 76, like other troubled projects such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Redfall, were victims of mismanagement and crunch.
Controversy continued to hound Fallout 76 in the following years. Several monetization choices, including the prices of cosmetics, a hacking and mass duplication issue, and a subscription service, drew the ire of players and game journalists, but we can’t ignore the obvious fact today.
And that is the fact that this online game survived all those controversies, and Bethesda is now making a major announcement for its next expansion. This is only the latest of many such updates, and the second Expedition in game, following The Pitt.
While many gamers will likely pass on Fallout 76: Atlantic City to play other games, including Bethesda’s own Starfield, Fallout 76 has enough of an active player base that the studio feels justified in continuing to support the game. Since Fallout 76 is set years after the prior Fallout games, Bethesda may be laying out the story they wanted to tell after Fallout 4 with this game now.
Bethesda has chosen not to speak much about Fallout 76: Atlantic City’s new backdrop in New Jersey but we will likely be learning more in the coming weeks prior to launch.
