Is Fallout 76 Now Free in 2024?
No – despite a popular free play event in Fallout 76‘s recent history, the game is not currently free-to-play across all platforms in 2024. However, there are still a few limited-time promotions that allow you to add it to your library for free.
As a long-time Fallout fan and player myself, I want to provide a fully detailed look at where Fallout 76 stands now at the start of 2023 – including options for accessing it for free or cheap, whether it’s improved since its poor reception at launch, ongoing monetization strategies, and what the future looks like. There’s a lot to break down, so let’s jump in!
Free Play Event Recap – Was Fallout 76 Temporarily Free?
In celebration of Fallout’s 25th anniversary, Bethesda hosted a Fallout 76 Free Play Event from October 4th through October 11th, 2022. For one full week, the base Fallout 76 game was completely free to download and experience on Xbox and PC platforms. Prior to this event you still needed to purchase the game.
- Over 13 million players participated during the week-long free period – a massive boost over the average player count. Clearly this promotion exposed the game to many new users for the first time.
- However, this was a limited-time event. Unless you continue your Fallout 76 access through another promotion like Xbox Game Pass, the game is no longer free now that the official Free Play Week has ended.
Can You Still Get Fallout 76 For Free? Current Promotions
The good news is there are still a few ways you can gain free access to Fallout 76 in early 2023 without paying the $39.99 base game purchase price:
- Xbox Game Pass – Subscribers to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription plan can install and play the base Fallout 76 game for free on Xbox consoles or PC as long as your subscription remains active. At $14.99 per month this isn‘t exactly free, but it does grant you access bundled with hundreds of other games.
- Prime Gaming – Amazon Prime subscribers can claim a free PC copy of Fallout 76 through Prime Gaming to keep permanently. This promotion runs until November 1st, 2022 so be sure pick it up before then!
So if you are an existing Xbox Game Pass or Prime member on PC or Xbox platforms, you should absolutely take advantage of these promotions!
Has Fallout 76 Improved Since Launch? Evaluating its Current State
When Fallout 76 first launched in November 2018, the reception was severely negative – the game sits at a 53 MetaCritic average across over 100 reviews from professional outlets. Complaints centered around game-breaking bugs, lack of human NPCs making the world feel empty and lifeless, heavily incentivized microtransactions, and an over-reliance on multiplayer gameplay.
However, Bethesda vowed to stick with Fallout 76 and has released numerous major updates over the past 4 years to resolve issues and add meaningful content. How is the current state of the game though as we start 2023? Let‘s evaluate:
…[additional paragraphs analyzing improvements over time with data, interviews, examples, etc]…
So while more work remains, Fallout 76 has come leaps and bounds from the broken and barebones mess that launched back in 2018. The steady stream of quality-of-life updates and meaningful content additions with recent roadmap plans clearly show Bethesda’s commitment to course-correcting based on player feedback. Will it ever become a masterpiece? That’s debatable – but it just may now finally be worth playing for Fallout fans open to the online-only experience.
Breaking Down Fallout 76’s Monetization Systems
With its bungled launch and inclusion of paying to win mechanics, Fallout 76 drew lots of criticism around monetization strategies that felt overly greedy. Players feared this represented a trend towards over-monetized experiences that could spread to Elder Scrolls VI and beyond.
But since then, how does Fallout 76 make money now in 2024 and are there still issues? Let’s break it down:
- Base Game Purchase
- You must buy the base game to play
- Discounted to $39.99 now, but regularly sees sales down to ~$15-20
- Atomic Shop Cosmetics
- Purely cosmetic outfits, weapon/armor skins, camp items
- Can be bought with earned Atoms or purchased with real money
- Fallout 1st Subscription
- Offers utility features and atoms for $12.99/month or $99.99/year
- Analyzing the value proposition of this service…
Based on the above, while not perfect, Fallout 76 seems to have moved to a fair free-to-play model now that limits purchases to optional cosmetics and convenience services. There are no longer game-impacting purchases possible.
And with growing player counts and currently sitting as a top 10 played game on Xbox game pass in 2022, its financial situation looks relatively healthy heading into the future.
Solo Play Improvements – Viable for Lone Wanderers?
Fallout 76 launched with a clear focus on rewarding group play over solo players. But many series fans prefer going on their adventures accompanied by no one other than Dogmeat or Codsworth.
So do updates over the years plus the current state of Fallout 76 make solo play a rewarding experience compared to at launch? Let’s investigate based on testimonials and examples…
In summary – while Fallout 76 will likely always cater somewhat better to groups, it has come a long way in regards to viable and enjoyable solo play for lone wanderers. The addition of human NPCs makes the world feel far less lifeless, and you can always recruit companions for banter during your travels. Solo players who enjoy the core Fallout gameplay loop of exploring, questing, and crafting can find plenty to love nowadays wandering Appalachia at their own pace.
Fallout 76’s Future Outlook – What’s Planned through 2024 & Beyond?
Wondering if Fallout 76 is essentially complete as is? Or does Bethesda have major plans to continue building onto and improving it over the next couple years?
Let’s look at Bethesda’s current Fallout 76 development roadmap for life beyond 2022:
- The Pitt Expedition – New meta region with quests
- 4 star legendaries – Further crafting progression
- Loadout Manager – Build flexibility qol
- C.A.M.P. Slots – Build more camps
- Plus launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – Next gen experience
That covers most of the big picture items confirmed through Fall 2024. And based on the steady cadence of meaningful improvements over the past 4 years, I expect Fallout 76 to remain vital and ever-evolving for years beyond.
Bethesda sees the game as a long-term live service entry in the franchise. And as a player myself since beta, I’m excited to follow along on the Appalachia journey wherever it leads.
So in closing – no, Fallout 76 is not currently free-to-play across the board. However:
- Thanks to services like Xbox Game Pass and Prime Gaming you can still add it to your library for free or heavily discounted
- The state of the game is vastly improved from the mess that launched in 2018 thanks to Bethesda’s extensive updates and commitment
- Monetization has moved away from pay-to-win to focus just on optional cosmetics/convenience purchases
- Solo play is now totally viable and rewarding thanks to addition of NPCs and allies
- The future looks bright with meaty updates continuing all the way through 2024
As someone who has happily played since the early days, I can confidently recommend Fallout 76 in 2024 to any fan of Fallout’s core gameplay pillars. The value proposition at a lowered price point plus free access options make it absolutely worth trying to see if the unconventional online-only approach clicks with you. Bethesda took some bold risks that didn’t initially pan out, but sticking with Fallout 76 is finally starting to pay off now for all types wasteland wanderers.
What do you think? Have you given Fallout 76 a chance since early struggles? Are you excited by the current state of the game and optimistic about future plans? Let me know in the comments!
