Fallout 76 recently rolled out its Wastelanders update, bringing one the often-requested NPCs and associated quests to the online-only game. Bethesda appears far from finished with its post-apocalyptic MMO, though, as the studio has now detailed a roadmap for the next several months. On the whole the changes seem aimed at making it even more of a live services game, including the addition of seasons with unique cosmetic rewards.

The new seasons system will debut with the Summer Season, and will replace the current challenges system. As the name implies, the studio plans to introduce four seasons per year. Once Update 20 hits, you'll find an option in the main menu with a seasonal progression screen. The theme for the first season will look like a board game, where you move spaces on the board to progress through 100 ranks. Completing in-game challenges will accumulate "S.C.O.R.E. points" to move ahead in the board, and rewards will be items like unique outfits, CAMP gear, skins, consumables, perk card packs, and in-game currencies.

Rewards will only apply to one of your characters, and major rewards will come at numbered milestones like ranks 25, 50, and 76. If you reach level 100 you'll get an "End of Season" bundle. For the first season, this big reward includes Captain Cosmos themed items: a Jangles the Moon Monkey Stein, planetarium desk lamp, and a framed version of the season 1 board game.

This will come alongside some changes to how challenges themselves work. The daily and weekly challenges will be the primary way to increase your score (err, S.C.O.R.E.) and they'll be changed to become a little more straightforward and easy to understand. Bethesda says it wants to make these more "predictable and consistent." As an example, it says, instead of taking a picture of another player in a Rad Storm--which can be difficult to coordinate--a challenge could be to earn a level-up or complete a public event.

You'll also be able to purchase a rank up for 150 Atoms, which Bethesda says is a way for players to catch up if they join a season late. To that end, you won't be able to unlock ranks during the first two weeks, just so all players start on the same level. Bethesda estimates that each rank up will take an hour or two of playtime, so you'll have to play 100-200 hours per season to earn all the rewards.

"Our original Challenge system was not quite as engaging as we had hoped," Bethesda wrote. "Some Challenges were complicated, and almost all of them awarded Atoms. We wanted to revisit our Challenges and rewards to create a new system that is more fun, flexible, and offers more to look forward to every time you log in. After multiple iterations, we feel the system we've designed accomplishes all of those goals. It allows us to offer lots of rewards for players to unlock as they make progress. It also provides a clear and achievable path to collecting everything, and fun new themes every few months, all while retaining the flexibility for players to earn and spend Atoms as they choose in the Atomic Shop."

A roadmap image gave some details on what to expect from the fall and winter seasons as well. The fall update, One Wasteland For All, will introduce rebalanced combat with reward scaling so you can play with your friends no matter what their level. The winter update, Fractured Steel, will continue a Brotherhood of Steel storyline that began with the Steel Dawn update, and include more quests and NPCs. It will also introduce perk loadouts and shelters, so you can build your own instanced interior environments.