Bethesda Says Fallout 76 Will Not Receive an Offline Option

Following a bout of contentious rumors, Bethesda’s E3 2018 showcase confirmed Fallout 76 is an online-focused game. Yet, even though online players are substitutes for NPCs, Bethesda maintains that experiencing the game as a lone wolf is an option. Turning off Fallout 76’s online functionality, however, isn’t an option. This new entry in the RPG series is an always-online title and will remain as such.

Bethesda’s Senior VP of Marketing and Communications, Pete Hines, confirmed this during a Twitter exchange with fans. When asked whether there might be plans for implementing an offline option in Fallout 76 in the future, Hines answered with the following:

it’s a server based game. I don’t see us completely re-engineering it to somehow be an offline game that is entirely client based.

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) August 25, 2018

In the past, Hines has insisted that Fallout 76’s multiplayer experience will be nothing like anyone expects. In an interview after the game’s announcement, Hines explained,

…I think as more information comes out and folks understand it’s not tons and tons of people, it’s post-apocalyptic, it’s gonna be dozens and dozens, not hundreds, that you can’t just have someone keep chasing you down and killing you over and over again, the game just doesn’t allow for that – the PvP is almost more of a challenge system, not just a ‘kill everybody that you see’ – that we do want folks to roleplay.

Bethesda has taken great strides to ensure that fans understand exactly what Fallout 76 will offer. One example of this manifested in an animated video that cleverly showcases how players will interact with others.

For those interested in trying Fallout 76 prior to release, Bethesda plans to launch a B.E.T.A. in October 2018. The progress players make in the beta will carry over into the main game.

Fallout 76 launches this fall on November 14, 2018.

[Source: Pete Hines’ Twitter via VGR]