The long anticipated “next-gen” — really it’s the current generation — version of Fallout 4 launches on April 25, coinciding somewhat with all the interest in, and critical acclaim for, the just-premiered Fallout television series on Amazon Prime Video. This update will also be accompanied by additional content for all players, giving the nine-year-old game a refresh right as many are inclined to return.
The free upgrade, announced by Bethesda Game Studios on Thursday, makes Fallout 4 a native application on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and gives users the options of a performance mode and a quality mode that increased picture resolution or gameplay at 60 frames per second.
PC gamers with Fallout 4 versions through Steam, the Microsoft Store, and GOG will get a title update delivering stability, mods, and bug fixes. A title update for the PS4 and Xbox One versions also brings stability improvements, plus login and quest fixes.
Finally, as part of the overall modernization of the game, Fallout 4 will be available on the Epic Games Store on April 25, and it will also be Steam Deck verified.
What else do Fallout 4 players get in April 25’s big update?
The content drop is available to all players, coming from the Creation Club, the curated and verified mod shop for the game that Bethesda launched in 2017. That includes:
- “Echoes of the Past,” a new questline that brings the pre-war bad guys The Enclave into the Fallout 4 storyline. They were the antagonist faction of 2008’s Fallout 3, and had no role in the latest game. “Can you stop The Enclave from spreading their dangerous ideology, and gaining a foothold in the Commonwealth?” Bethesda wrote.
- That includes the Enclave Colonel uniform plus new themed items for workshops, as well as a set of weapon and armor skins, two weapons, and two sets of Power Armor previously released through the Creation Club.
- Players will also get the Makeshift Weapon Pack, which includes a leaf blower turned into a baseball launcher; a nail rifle; and a rocket launcher that fires a piggy bank whose punch is anything but cute.
- There’s also set of Halloween-themed Workshop items. Longtime players are familiar that, in Fallout lore, nuclear annihilation occurred in late October, before Halloween, somewhat freezing the surface ruins in that time. These relics will likewise make players’ settlements year-round spooky.
This is the latest wave of content refreshes and promotions to capture renewed interest in the franchise following the show’s premiere. The most recent game in the series, the live service multiplayer RPG Fallout 76, is free to Amazon Prime subscribers as a Prime Gaming benefit from April 11. Fallout 76 is also free to everyone with an Xbox One or Series X for the coming weekend, until April 15, even if they don’t have an Xbox Game Pass Core subscription granting multiplayer access.
And not to be left out of the party, mobile gamers who enjoy Fallout Shelter will see characters from the show inside their Vaults, including Lucy and The Ghoul, as well themes, weapons, and outfits from the series.
Images via Bethesda.net