Bethesda is saying goodbye to Fallout 76’s battle royale mode. Nuclear Winter, the game’s take on the popular last-player-standing genre, will be removed when a new update is released this September. The game’s developer blamed a few issues for the mode’s cancelation, most notably the fact that it was hard to fill lobbies with willing players looking to duke it out in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Bethesda made no effort to hide the fact that “the vast majority of players prefer to explore other aspects of the game.”
However, Bethesda made a promise as well as an apology to fans who are disappointed by the news. “We know that some of you are incredibly passionate about Nuclear Winter, and that you may find this news disappointing. Ending support for the mode was a difficult decision, and not one that we made lightly,” they said in a statement, before adding: “We’re still working to provide methods of PVP combat for those who enjoy squaring off against other former Vault Dwellers, and a little later this year, we will release details on how we plan to offer players even more ways to play Fallout 76.”
The news has many Fallout 76 fans wondering what sort of PVP possibilities Bethesda will lay out in the months ahead. The game has suffered numerous issues from launch and originally had limited functionality and a lack of different modes to choose from. Over time, Bethesda put serious effort into improving Fallout 76 and the game began to amass a following. Now, years after the game’s launch, the studio is still developing new ways for players to enjoy it. It just seems like a battle royale mode will not be one of them.
The battle royale option was added to Fallout 76 a couple years after the game’s initial release. It was part of an update for the game in the midst of the major battle royale craze that swept through the gaming industry, thanks to the popularity of titles such as Player Unknown Battlegrounds and, of course, Fortnite. Many other games aside from Fallout 76 also created their own versions of battle royale but, over time, the attention has moved away from the genre as PUBG and Fortnite seem to truly be the last ones standing.
