Highlights
- Fallout 4 players have been eagerly anticipating a next-gen update for the game, but Bethesda has yet to deliver on its promise.
- The game, released in 2015, was a huge success and introduced new features like settlement building, making it a unique and popular entry in the franchise.
- While Skyrim received a re-release for ninth-generation consoles, Fallout 4 hasn't received the same treatment, leading fans to wonder if the announced update has been abandoned. Hopefully Bethesda will provide more information and a release window for the update soon.
The ninth generation of gaming has been going strong for around three years now, and it has seen countless fantastic experiences in that time. Studios have also spent a lot of time upgrading or remaking their past games to take advantage of everything that these new consoles have to offer. This has been great for gamers, but promised next-gen updates for games like Fallout 4 are still nowhere to be found.
Fallout 4 was a great RPG when it first launched back in 2015, but it has started showing a few cracks as it ages. While The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim received its next-gen update, Fallout 4 has been left to gather dust. Bethesda promised that the acclaimed RPG would be upgraded for modern hardware sometime this year, but it has not happened yet, and the year is more than halfway done. The studio may be focusing its attention on Starfield, but it is also time that it finally fulfills its next-gen promise.
Fallout 4 Deserves to Shine on Next-Gen Hardware
Fallout 4 was a fantastic treat for fans of the franchise and helped remind players why the series is as popular as it is. Bethesda not only refined the franchise's core gameplay loop, but it also introduced a plethora of new features like settlement building to the mix. This helped make the RPG one of the most unique in the series and gave players a reason to keep coming back for more. While some of its mechanics and DLC may have left much to be desired, the experience was still well worth the wait.
Fallout 4 ended up being a massive success for the studio and would go on to win numerous awards. Bethesda would spend a year building upon its foundations with six DLC packs, the Creation Club, and used its mechanics as a basis for the Fallout 76 spin-off. It felt like the studio had another behemoth on its hands, and it helped show audiences that it was far more than a simple Skyrim machine.
Once the new generation rolled around, players were hoping that Bethesda would release a next-gen update for Fallout 4. Skyrim was able to get a re-release when the eighth generation kicked off, and many studios were taking advantage of the ninth generation consoles with next-gen updates of their own. It seemed like studios wanted their games to spread across gaming generations, and backwards compatibility helped make it easier than ever.
Bethesda ended up giving Skyrim its ninth-generation re-release in 2021, but it has yet to give Fallout 4 its own next-gen update. The studio announced it had plans to release one sometime in 2023, but the update has not seen the light of day. There has been almost no news about its existence, and some fans think that it may have been outright abandoned. While Bethesda has not canceled the project, it feels strange that it has revealed so little information about it. If Skyrim can get released on three generations, then it should not be this hard for Fallout 4 to get released on its second.
Bethesda likely has its hands full with Starfield, but it would be nice if it at least provided a release window for Fallout 4's next-gen update. Fans should be able to play the game with the best graphics possible, and modern hardware could really help the game shine even brighter. This update could not only help improve an already great game, but also serve as the perfect way to kill time during the extremely long wait for the next Fallout title.
Fallout 4 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
