'Fallout 76' Crossplay Release TBD Says Bethesda, Beta Launch Imminent?
Bethesda fans feeling the hype for Fallout 76 got a little more excited today with Sony's announcement it will support crossplay for Fortnite and other games in the near future. Pete Hines, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications for Bethesda, sent out a seemingly benign congratulatory tweet aimed at Sony to celebrate the news:
👏
— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) September 26, 2018
Well done, Sony. https://t.co/jEMPH65wbt
The reply sparked a cascading cacophony of requests for Fallout 76 crossplay. Bethesda has stated from the outset that crossplay isn't planned for this year's launch, well before Sony announced it was changing its policy towards letting players interact with the audiences of rival companies. But hype does strange things to people, so perhaps fans can be forgiven for forgetting Bethesda's clearly articulated position on the matter. However, Hines tweeted a follow-up to once again remind everyone to temper their expectations.
Folks, chill. I work with a lot of devs and games for whom this is important going forward.
— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) September 26, 2018
Fallout 76 does not support crossplay, for a number of reasons. I have no idea if it ever will. But I assure you it is not on our radar right now as we focus on B.E.T.A. and Launch.
Fallout 76 is scheduled for release Nov. 14, but a beta will begin on an unspecified date in October. A reddit leak suggests the B.E.T.A. ( Break-it Early Test Application) will begin on Oct. 8. Bethesda is hosting a press event to demo Fallout 76 on Oct. 6, so a workable version of the game will exist in some form next week. (Bethesda also arranged a demo for a 12-year-old cancer patient who recently stopped treatment.)
UPDATE: Bethesda has confirmed the Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. will begin Oct. 23 for Xbox One users and Oct. 30 for PS4/PC users.
Fallout 76 crossplay, if it happens, will almost certainly occur after Bethesda has launched crossplay between PS4 and other platforms for other titles, such as The Elder Scrolls: Online . It's clear from Hines' tweet that the complex nature of Fallout 76 as an ambitious MMO are providing challenges to crossplay that won't be addressed until after the game is released and stable.
Are you excited for Fallout 76 ? Are you going to wait and see how it runs before committing? How important is crossplay? Let us know in the comments.
