Fallout Shelter's Huge Update Out Now, Here's What It Adds

Fallout Shelter's biggest update ever arrived today, adding things like a new quest system and combat mechanics, as well as more microtransactions.

Update 1.6, which was announced at E3, arrives today alongside a PC version. The PC edition started to show up yesterday; you can read this post to find out how to download it.

Some of the Fallout Shelter 1.6 update's biggest new features are quests and a tweaked combat system. Bethesda said the new quests are "more substantive," allowing players to control their dwellers while they travel to new locations. Some of these will be familiar to Fallout 4 players, as they include the Red Rocket Fuel Stop and the Super Duper Mart.

"Players can assemble a group of dwellers to take on challenges outside of the Vault, uncover legendary loot, and face off against new enemies like Radscorpions, Ghouls, and powerful bosses," Bethesda explained.

As for the new combat system, here is how Bethesda describes it:

"Overseers can use the new combat system to gain control over dwellers in a fight, allowing players to select opponents and direct attacks and even play a quick mini-game for a critical hit."

Fallout Shelter's store has also been updated with a new "Starter Pack" item that "allows players to jump-start a new vault." Additionally, there is a Nuka-Cola Quantum item that speeds up the time it takes dwellers to return from the wasteland and some vault tasks. Prices for these items were not specified, however.

As for Fallout Shelter's PC version, Bethesda confirmed that it includes all of the updates added to the mobile game since its release in 2015. This includes the 1.6 update, as well as previous ones that added things like pets and crafting functionality.

Finally, Bethesda revealed that Fallout Shelter players have, to date, completed more than 5 billion game sessions. Throughout those, players have sent more than 715 million dwellers into the Wasteland. By Bethesda's latest count, Fallout Shelter had reached 50 million downloads.

In other Fallout news, Fallout 4's Vault-Tec Workshop DLC arrives on July 26. One more add-on, Nuka-World, is coming out in August, and then Fallout 4's DLC campaign is over.