It was more than a year ago that Bethesda Game Studios announced a Fallout 4 next-gen update that would improve visuals, boost the game’s frame rate, and introduce some fresh content to the game (probably Creation Club content, but still). However, since that announcement was made, everyone has gone quiet on the next-gen update for Fallout 4 – except for Pete Hines, who stepped out a while ago to say it wasn’t as important as the development of Starfield.
Fallout 4 remains the series’ most popular game even eight years after it was released. It boasts more mods than you can shake a Pip-Boy at, and it features some of the best downloadable content the franchise has ever seen, all of which serve to immensely increase the replayability of the game. Regardless, players have sitting and waiting patiently for this promised next-gen upgrade for Fallout 4 — so where is it?
Fallout 4’s Next-Gen Update — TBC?
In 2015, Fallout 4 emerged and took up the title of the best-selling Fallout game in history. It has sat at the top of the pile for almost a decade, even if many of the series’ fans believe that the earlier titles – such as New Vegas and Fallout 3 – are ‘better ‘games. It was indicative of the staying power of the game that Bethesda Game Studios was willing to reveal a next-gen update for Fallout 4 so long after release, but it doesn’t make sense that the chatter about the upgrade has since run stale.
Months ago, Fallout 76 received a shadow update that made it more stable, and there were thoughts that it had something to do with the upgrade ‘being developed’ for Fallout 4, given that the two run on the same engine and share assets.
But that wasn’t the case, obviously.
So, what is the Fallout 4 next-gen update?
It’s a free-to-download upgrade that will reportedly boost everything – visuals, performance, frame rate, current-gen platform capabilities, and it’ll also add bonus content to the game. It’ll likely bring thousands of players back into the fold, as fans of the franchise will be eager to ‘see the difference’, but for more than a year, Bethesda Game Studios has stood in silence about the update.
It’s a Solid Time to Be a Fallout Fan
In recent weeks, fans of the Fallout franchise have been celebrating the reveal of the release date for the Prime Video-based Fallout television series. They’ve also been pre-ordering the sumptuous Magic the Gathering set based on the Fallout universe. Not only that, but they’ve been joining Bethesda in celebrating:
- 25 years of Fallout
- 15 years of Fallout 3
- 5 years of Fallout 76
But for those locked in on Fallout 4, the delay of the game’s next-gen update is proving to be a sticking point. There are theories that BGS is waiting for the television series to drop to drive up hype and then roll out the Fallout 4 next-gen update at the same time, but that’s just conjecture.
In reality, nobody knows when the next-gen upgrade will arrive, and that’s a shame.
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