Fallout 76’s Wastelanders expansion, which Bethesda says is “one of the largest expansions” the company has ever done, has been delayed until 2020, a dev blog from the company announces today.
“We’ve been hard at work on Fallout 76 this year, including our biggest free update yet, Wastelanders,” Bethsoft says. “We’re excited about how Wastelanders is coming together but it’s going to need more time to be the best, most polished update it can be, so we are delaying its release to Q1 next year. We’ve continued to re-evaluate and change our processes to make sure the work we’re doing hits our quality bar, and yours. We apologize for this delay but know it will be worth the extra time.”
The studio does offer up a batch of brand-new and intriguing screenshots, along with the promise that private servers (private worlds) launching next week. “Additionally, in the future you’ll be able to mod your worlds,” the team notes. “We’re also still working on new events, the Legendary Player system, a public test server, perk loadouts, and so much more to come.”
Where eyebrows might go up is the part about the game’s hybrid cash shop, which allows players to buy stuff with either currency earned in-game or with currency purchased with real money out-of-game. While Bethsoft says its initial approach was to keep Atomic Shop items “purely cosmetic” – you’ll recall those promises – it’s changing its mind now.
“After looking at all the data, it became clear that to consistently deliver content that keeps Fallout 76 fresh and exciting for all, we needed to rethink our approach to the Atomic Shop. While we had many ideas on what to add to the Atomic Shop, one of the ways was the direct result of the community’s feedback. We heard from many of you who wanted items with some real utility. Starting in April, we began adding items such as Repair Kits, Scrap Kits, the Collectron Station, and a working Refrigerator. These have since become the most popular category in the Atomic Shop. We’re also still working on all the previously announced items and new cosmetic categories. We want to create an Atomic Shop experience where players feel good about spending their hard-earned Atoms. To make the system more fun and engaging for all players, we plan on reworking parts of the Challenge and reward system next year to be clearer, more fun, and more impactful for all types of players.”
The studio does argue that it won’t be upsetting the game balance: “Our main objective is to avoid a situation where players can spend money to gain a competitive advantage or make the game worse for other players. Even more so, we want systems that allow players who do choose to buy Atoms to make the game better for others, not just themselves.”
