Fallout 76 has been on a hot streak lately. Since the premiere of Amazon Prime’s live-action Fallout series last year, the multiplayer take on the long-running post-apocalyptic franchise has seen a surge in players. 2024 was a solid time for Fallout 76 players, but 2025 has raised the bar with its lineup of new content.
Back in the spring, Fallout 76 saw one of its biggest shake-ups yet with the arrival of the Ghoul Within update. Due to the popularity of Walton Goggins as The Ghoul in the Fallout TV show, Fallout 76 finally embraced playable Ghouls. That isn’t where the big content drops stopped, though. Just recently, Fallout 76 released its summer update, Gone Fission, finally bringing fishing to the wastelands of Appalachia. Fallout 76 is now the strongest it has ever been, and while that’s great, it also gives Bethesda the difficult challenge of one-upping these updates later in the year.
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The Rest of Fallout 76’s Year is Already Being Teased
During an interview at Summer Game Fest, Fallout 76 lead producer Bill LaCoste and creative director Jon Rush had some exciting things to say about what waits on the horizon for players later this year. The duo claimed that Fallout 76 is going to get even bigger updates down the road, but they were quite tight-lipped about what this future content entails.
While many of the details are still being kept under wraps, the upcoming fall update was at least confirmed to be focused around building. LaCoste and Rush hinted at an overhaul of the CAMP system, but the most intriguing news is the planned winter update. Fallout 76‘s winter update could potentially be “one of the biggest, most impactful patches” to ever come to the title. Considering that it’s only summer, it will probably be a while before the team behind Fallout 76 offer more insight, but such bold claims definitely point to something compelling. Over the years, Fallout 76 has finally found its voice, and its winter update potentially being a turning point for the multiplayer adventure makes one wonder exactly what such a massive update could hold.
Rush and LaCoste held back from revealing an official release date for Fallout 76‘s winter update, but it’s set to arrive sometime in December. Season 2 of the Fallout show is also slated to premiere during the same month, giving franchise fans a double dose of content to be on the lookout for.
Can Fallout 76’s Winter Update Stand Up to the Hype?
Based on the Summer Game Fest interview, Rush and LaCoste seem quite confident in what is planned to come to Fallout 76 at the end of the year, but that still doesn’t guarantee it can meet the expectations already set by Ghoul Within and Gone Fission.
Of course, only time will tell, and even if Fallout 76‘s winter update doesn’t reach that high bar, that won’t stop it from being a solid year for the spin-off. Fishing may seem like a small update compared to becoming a Ghoul, but Gone Fission has added an extra layer of depth to the game’s survival experience.
Gone Fission introduces three types of bait: Common, Improved, and Superb. As their names imply, higher tiers of bait increase one’s chances of getting a good catch.
As the year continues, Bethesda is bound to shed some more light on what to expect from Fallout 76. It was just recently confirmed that Bethesda will be present at Gamescom in August, and while many are expecting Starfield to be the main topic of discussion, it could also be a strong stage to make some fresh Fallout 76 announcements, too.
Fallout 76
5/10
- Released
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November 14, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Engine
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Creation