'I have no idea how they will continue': Bethesda developer worries Xbox layoffs could kill Fallout 76 updates without help from 'an outside studio'

Although it received scathing reviews and widespread controversy in late 2018 due to lackluster content offerings and serious technical issues, Fall 76 — Bethesda Game Studios‘, multiplayer-focused MMO-lite version of the post-apocalyptic RPG series, became quite popular over time, and the title still enjoys regular content updates and a healthy community eight years later.

Following this week’s Massive wave of 3,200 Xbox layoffs and four studio divestitures.However, there are fears that support for the long Appalachian adventure may soon come to an end. teams under the ZeniMax and Bethesda umbrella have been “significantly” affected, including the game’s administrator, Bethesda Game Studios.

More than 50 employees have reportedly been laid off from Bethesda at its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland and its office in Dallas, Texas. — a reduction in strength That makes the developers of The Elder Scrolls 6 fear crises and delays in the long-awaited role-playing game. moving forward. Some are also concerned that a significant amount of time will need to be spent training contractors to use Bethesda’s proprietary tools, such as the Creation Engine.

Latest videos of

However, it is worth noting that a Bethesda developer commented to IGN that “they have no idea how they will continue to update Fall 76 without hiring an external study”, which suggests the development of the experiment radioactive dust The title could end at some point in the near future.

A screenshot of a player character in Fallout 76 giving a thumbs up.

Fallout 76 has enjoyed eight years of constant patches and content updates, but support for the game may now be at risk after Microsoft’s Xbox layoffs hit Bethesda.

Another possibility is that Fallout 76 support will eventually continue, but with updates and patches reduced in size and cadence. This seems to be what is happening with The Elder Scrolls online and ZeniMax Online Studios; The content roadmaps for that game are “changing.” after its developer suffered more than 200 cuts this week.

We may also see outside support arrive for Fallout 76, as in a letter sent to staff, Bethesda president Jill Braff emphasized the need for the studio to better support its “strongest franchises,” echoing recent sentiment from the Xbox CEO. asha sharma that need to “move faster” with core IPs like Fall.

Arguably ending support for the most recent game in the series would defeat that goal: especially while the extremely popular Fallout TV show is bringing countless new eyes to the property. That being said, Fallout 76 is now eight years old and is not massively popular and with Obsidian now making a new Fallout gameMicrosoft may not see much value in continuing to invest resources in the title.

In the end, it’s impossible to say that It will happen with Fallout 76 moving forward until we hear something official from Microsoft, Xbox or Bethesda. However, based on the aforementioned comment from a developer, I think the game’s live service development is likely to change in some way.

Whether it ends up stopping completely or just slowing down remains to be seen, but I can’t imagine this week’s outages won’t be reflected in Fallout 76’s update cadence. somehow.

In the wake of Microsoft’s Xbox layoffs, should support for Fallout 76 continue? Or do you think Bethesda should leave the game? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above.