Bethesda surprised many fans with the announcement ofFallout 76in May of 2018, less than three years after the release ofFallout 4, all whileThe Elder Scrollshad stayed in limbo since 2011. That rapid-fire turnaround time might have turned out to work against Bethesda, thanks to theconstant updates toFallout 76trying to keep the game barely afloat.
Fans will likely never know exactly what happened with the development ofFallout 76, since the process and climates for AAA games is often a closely guarded secret that gets influenced by dozens of outside sources. Still, the stumbling that the game has caused Bethesda since the developer’s first attempt at translating the series to an online format might have effects on aFallout 5that fans hope to see in the future.
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Reworking the Creation Engine for Fallout 5
It isn’t entirely clear exactly how focused Bethesda has remained fixated onSkyrimandFallout’s Creation Engine, though many official comments indicate that this engine is still the developer’s primary tool. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been tweaks to the software over the years, with some claims indicating that the current build of the engine looks nothing like it did only a few years ago. This could be a good indication that future games built under the engine have the potential to perform better thanFallout 76andFallout 4did.
Unfortunately for the fate ofFallout 5, if the Creation Engine had to take such a massive overhaul, then this might mean that development on the next installment in the series might not have even started yet. Bethesda has mentioned that the tool is able to make open-world titles at a much faster pace than it had before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a new, fully explorable world can be built in as little as a year or two. Some players still hold the belief that trying to move too quickly after development ofFallout 4is the reason forFallout 76’s disastrous release.
Avoiding The Sprint to Fallout 76’s Release
Whether or not it was time constraints that really didFallout 76in, Bethesda is still in a sensitive position with the open soar that is the reputation of that game’s glitchy launch hanging as such a recent release. So, when it comes to moving forward with the series to, the developer will need to take care to not rush intodevelopment ofFallout 5in order to avoid the previous game’s shortcomings. In fact, this could also be what’s takingElder Scrolls 6so long to go from a small teaser announcement to a full reveal of everything that players have to look forward to.
Of course, development of a major AAA title is never quite so cut and dry as to say that Bethesda has the complete freedom to take all the time it needs to verify that every rock is perfectly placed. Once the developer starts a project likeFallout 5, deadlines are immediately set, where different teams have to get everything from art direction, to basic AI programing in place within a set timeline. So, as much as Bethesda would want to avoid repeating thedisappointment ofFallout 76, actually reaching that goal is always a calculated risk of time to launch versus budget.
Microsoft Calling the Shots
When looking at the future of Bethesda in terms of budget, it can’t be ignored that the company is currently under new management that might not be too excited to see more failures likeFallout 76. Now thatMicrosoft has acquired Bethesda, there is a new figurehead to report to, and despite the good relationship between Todd Howard and Phil Spencer, releasing video games is a business. On that same note, there’s also the fact that Microsoft doesn’t want to see the degrading response to theFalloutseries continue right when the company obtained the IP.
So, there’s a fine line here, where Microsoft expects to eventually get a payoff for having acquired Bethesda in the first place, but pushing too hard could result in anotherFallout 76. Then there is the matter of exactly how involved Microsoft intends to be in the development of its acquired studios, something that the company has mentioned before should be minimal, and how its support of Bethesda impacts all future games, includingFallout 5.If this is the case, thehistory ofFallout 76might mean thatFalloutgets set aside for the time being, with the foreseeable future more focused on bringing good will back to Bethesda.
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Critiques of Fallout 4
As far as theFalloutseries as a whole goes, the series has consistently been in a tricky position ever since Bethesda’s first attempt within the franchise withFallout 3. Fans of the previous two games still point atFallout: New Vegasand its communityas the definitive 3D experience from the series, thanks to Obsidian having worked on the game. Comparisons are often made betweenFallout 3andNew Vegas, but holding up this older game as the best the series has to offer in the scope ofFallout 4already existing.
This isn’t to say thatFallout 4was a critical failure, but it took a number of departures from the series that weren’t quite appreciated by longtime fans of the originalFallout. While the game introduced fantastic new mechanics likeFallout 4’s revamped power armor, it is also often criticized for having an anticlimactic ending, and dozens of glitches on release. In a way, this game may have had its own impact onFallout 76’s poor reception, since players were already getting tired of having to wade through bugs at the start of every new Bethesda game.
Development is Stuck on Fixing Fallout 76
The poor reception ofFallout 76has been a hinderance on both the series, as well as Bethesda for quite some time now, with the developer needing to direct so much attention to addressing the game’s issues. Between broken systems, game-breaking glitches, and a lack of NPCs, the ongoing development of the online title has required so much more extra work than the developer could have possibly anticipated. New updates like Wastelanders andSteel Dawnhave done a lot to lift the game up to a degree, but it’s been a constant battle against the broken state that the game was launched in.
It’s hard to believe that Bethesda has even had time to think about progressing with the series at this point, considering how many fires the developer is constantly working to put out inFallout 76. While it should be noted that the developer is hard at work listening to player feedback and introducing features liketest servers toFallout 76, keeping the game running has been quite the undertaking. So, if there’s anything that could be hindering the progress of aFallout 5, it could be the split attention that Bethesda is likely suffering from at the moment.
Fallout 76is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
