Bethesda and Obsidian Just Made Fallout 76 More Important to Fallout’s Future Than Ever

Bethesda’s relationship with Obsidian has gone through several transformations since the two devs started working with each other, and now that connection is becoming closer once again after the new internal changes at Xbox. This means that in the build-up to future mainline projects, they are going to be relying a lot on Fallout 76 to carry the franchise’s name into the next generation, which, given how long these ginormous games take to make, could take a year or it could take many.

However, the fact that Obsidian is returning to the franchise is good news for all longtime fans, and it will give current Fallout 76 enjoyers something truly exceptional to look forward to. Yet as exciting as these upcoming games may be, it does put an additional strain on Bethesda’s live-service title, meaning that if they are unable to provide a steady stream of high-quality content in the coming months, then the hype for the follow-ups may fizzle out long before then. If the collaboration is to work, and if the additional games and remakes are to be a success, then we are going to need to see a clear bridge between the current worlds and the ones that come after.

Fallout 76 Has a Big Responsibility for the Franchise

If you had told me that Fallout 76 was going to be one of the most popular games in the series nearly a decade after its miserable launch, then I would have laughed in your face. But against all the odds, Bethesda pulled the game back from the grave and filled it with life in the form of consistent updates, content drops, and DLC packs that only seem to get better with every passing year. The game that exists now is a stark contrast to the initial release, and as far as Fallout ​​​​​​games go, many players will tell you that it is among the best, if not the best, to play in the modern day.

As amazing as the game has become, though, at some point we have to turn away from the present and look at the Fallout of tomorrow and all the forms it may take. We already know that the fifth game is a long way down the pipeline, and there are no expectations of it jumping ahead of The Elder Scrolls 6 any time soon, but now that Obsidian has entered the conversation, we have a much clearer roadmap of what kinds of games we can expect from the franchise between now and maybe even decades into the future given Bethesda’s recent track record of releases.

Also, the little information that is known right now is all pre-production related, meaning that we aren’t going to get another shadow drop like Oblivion Remastered, at least not for a considerable amount of time. So although we know Obsidian and Bethesda are making a new standalone game, and that remakes for Fallout 3 and New Vegas are also in production, the timeframes are completely uncertain, which means that as fun as it is to speculate and anticipate, if you want to play the newest wasteland content, then you need to hop on Fallout 76.

Thankfully, the game has been comfortably topped up with new toys ever since launch, with The Slasher Update recently joining that list, and beyond that, we have the Raven Rock expansion coming in 2027, so regardless of whether you are playing right now or considering giving it a try, there is lots of existing and upcoming content for you to digest. Yet at the same time, seasonal and intermittent updates for a game can only hold the community’s interest for so long, and at some point, the attention is going to die down, and people are going to move on to the next new thing, which in turn, could mean they are less likely to hold out for the next mainline games.

Fallout 76 Needs To Keep The Momentum Going

Live-service games are far from everyone’s favorite topic right now, and while Fallout 76 falls into a slightly different category, it still functions similarly. The expectations are for more content to come throughout the game’s life cycle, and given how there has been a major drought until now regarding even just some news about the next Fallout, that content has to be meaningful enough to keep the fans invested in a franchise that hasn’t received a mainline entry in over 10 years.

Another way of looking at things is thinking about where Fallout 76 is going to be after these upcoming games release. I think there is a very realistic world where Bethesda starts to wind down its attention towards the live-service side of things and instead chooses to focus on the blockbusters, resulting in a slow death for this chapter of the wasteland. On the other hand, they may continue to support it for decades to come, treating it like No Man’s Sky​​​​​, a great example of a live-service game that has defied the odds and come out the other side bigger and better than ever.

Regardless of where the game stands in the wider Bethesda catalog, its importance to the future of the franchise can never be understated. Being the intermediary that moves players from one arc to the next is never easy, and Bethesda and Obsidian need to really stick the landing with the next Fallout games, as otherwise, the wait wouldn’t have been worth it and Fallout 76 would have even more pressure on it to drive the series going forward. It is obvious that the devs do really care about this game, and they aren’t going to let it falter any time soon, yet there is still potential for things to go south, whether now, in a year, or after the Obsidian and Bethesda Fallout game drops.

In any case, the Fallout franchise is in its most interesting state it has ever been in. Compared to other large IPs that might have one or two games in the works, Bethesda is cooking up four separate releases, excluding DLCs for Fallout 76, which makes the future feel more like a Marvel slate at Comic-Con than the roadmap for a video game studio. But in between all the remakes and brand-new titles, the hope is that Fallout 76 can carry the flame with pride, and maybe even maintain a place of its own once all of its bigger brothers eventually come out.

Fallout 76

5/10

Released

November 14, 2018

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol