Bethesda Game Studios has once again addressed the lack of crossplay and cross-progression mechanics in Fallout 76, the post-apocalyptic MMORPG released in 2018. It’s one of the most critical elements the community has been crying out for since day one, but for whatever reason (most likely a technical one), Bethesda Game Studios has never implemented crossplay features.
During a recent media-only event in New York City, Bethesda turned up to promote Burning Springs, the all-new expansion coming to Fallout 76. It’s a game-changing expansion that will add another massive area to the map, amongst other things, but the topic of crossplay in Fallout 76 was still on everyone’s minds.
Why Doesn’t Fallout 76 Have Crossplay?
Bethesda’s Jonathan Rush (Creative Director) and Bill LaCoste (Production Director) recently sat down with our partners, the Iron Lords, in New York to discuss all things Fallout 76. Naturally, talk turned to the integration of crossplay mechanics.
Here’s what Bill LaCoste said:
It’s never a no, right?
But what I will say, is that those are decisions usually made at the very beginning of development, and right now it’s a huge technical lift for us to have crossplay or cross-progression on it (Fallout 76).
It’s something we get asked about constantly from players. I understand why, I feel the same way. I’d love to go play on Steam and then go play on Xbox or PlayStation and just have my character, but right now, it’s a little bit too difficult for us to pull off.
LaCoste stressed they’d need to undergo an enormous technical rearchitecture to accommodate crossplay functionality, which suggests the effort isn’t worth the reward, especially when the team is constantly trying to evolve the game and won’t want to risk damaging it.
He also mentioned that the return on investment comes into play, and that the team would ‘rightly’ prefer to focus on content rather than putting in place a system to accommodate crossplay.
Do you wish Fallout 76 would get crossplay mechanics? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the huge advantage that Fallout 76’s 1st subscribers recently got
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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