E3 2018: Fallout 76 Release Date And Everything We Know About Bethesda's New Online Game

Following a trailer and a few details during Microsoft's press conference, Bethesda has revealed even more about Fallout 76. During the Microsoft conference it was confirmed that the game is set in the hills of West Virginia, and you're one of the first to emerge into the Wasteland after the nuclear apocalypse. Furthermore, Fallout 76 is a prequel to the other games and four times the size of Fallout 4. However, appearing on stage at E3 2018, executive producer Todd Howard provided more information.

Howard said that Vault 76 was built to celebrate America's tercentenary, and you're selected to enter the vault and wait for the day when you can return to the world. During a gameplay demo, the player is given the command to leave by the Overseer, who says it's reclamation day.

On the way out, you learn that most of the others have already left. Emerging into the outside world, Howard said Fallout 76 has new rendering and lighting technology, which allows for "16 times" the detail. Players will travel through six distinct regions, each with its own style, and each with its own set of risks and rewards. There will be new creatures for players to encounter.

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Fallout 76 is also "entirely online" but you'll be able to play it solo. The idea for open-world survival came to Bethesda four years ago, when it started to work on building a multiplayer Fallout experience. Howard described the survival "softcore," which means death doesn't equal loss of progression. You'll never see a server when you play, and instead you'll just automatically go into a game with "dozens" of others. Of course, you can also join your friends and play together.

Howard continued to say player choice will also be incredibly important, so players will be able to decide who are the heroes and who are the villains. During the gameplay shown, multiple payers were shown engaging in combat, hanging out playing instruments, fighting aliens, emotions, crafting, and generally engaging in all the types of gameplay you expect from a Fallout, but together.

Although you can play solo, the easiest way to survive is to team up with others and build together. Making its return from Fallout 4 is the construction aspect of the game, which allowed players to erect structures to build towns. Your constructions will be attacked periodically by enemies, such as the Schorchbeast, which you'll need to bring down either alone or with friends. Once defeated, you can take pictures with your prey.

The Fallout 76 map will also have multiple nuclear missile sites, and players will be able to utilize them. To get them, you'll have to defeat enemies to find codes needed to access them, this is easier when you have multiple people, as codes are multi-part. With a full code, you can activate a nuclear launch targeted anywhere on that map you choose. In the resulting fallout, players will find valuable and rare rewards, but you'll have to make it through the numerous pitfalls of nuclear radiation to get them.

Fallout 76 will have dedicated servers that will support the game "now and for years to come." While on stage Howard also announced a beta--which stands for Break-it Early Test Application, according to Vault-Tec. He also revealed a special edition of the game, which has a map of the world that glows in the dark. It'll also have figures you can put on the map, as well as the T-51 Power Armor Helmet that you can wear. It has voice modulation and a headlight, so you can use it.

Fallout 76's release date was confirmed as November 14, 2018. It's coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC, and will be available for preorder June 15.