Today Bethesda introduced a new subscription service to Fallout 76. It's named Fallout 1st and it's already available for Fallout 76 players to purchase for either $12.99 per month or $99.99 upfront for a full year. Subscribing to Fallout 1st will grant Fallout 76 players access to a variety of benefits, several of which have been long-requested by players. That Bethesda is charging extra for these features is certain to be controversial, but they're available nevertheless.
The biggest benefit of Fallout 1st, and likely the main reason it will be attractive to many Fallout 76 players, is the addition of Private Worlds. Private Worlds allow players to create their own unique instance of the Fallout 76 world, a server that can be played solo or with a group of up seven other players. Only the creator/owner of the world has to be a subscriber, meaning it will disappear if no Fallout 1st members are currently on the server. Bethesda also plans to expand building areas, CAMP budgets, and Workshop persistence in the future.
Another major feature that Fallout 76 players have been begging for is some form of help with scrap storage in the game. With a Fallout 1st subscription, that problem is answered. Subscribers will have access to their very own unlimited Scrapbox. Players will no longer have to constantly sort through their Stash Box, prioritizing one item over another, and can shift all of their crafting components to this endless Scrapbox container.
The third major feature offered as part of Fallout 76 is being called the Survival Tent. The Survival tent can be placed by the player directly from their Favorites wheel at the player's leisure. It's effectively a free portable base, replete with Stash, Sleeping Bag, Scrapbox, and Cooking Station. It even works as a fast travel point. It's perhaps the best convenience item in the game and would quite clearly make the experience of playing Fallout 76 significantly more efficient. Unfortunately, Bethesda is putting it behind a price wall.
The final subset of bonuses that come with a Fallout 76 Fallout 1st subscription has to do with microtransactions. Subscribers will start with a subscriber-exclusive set of armor dubbed the Ranger Armor Outfit. They'll then also receive an income of 1,650 Atoms, Fallout 76's premium currency, each month. There will also be special Fallout 1st discounts on certain items in the Atomic Shop, too. And finally, there's a set of Fallout 1st exclusive emotes and player icons for subscribers. These benefits will remain the player's even if they choose not to continue their Fallout 1st subscription.
For those still playing Fallout 76, Fallout 1st is certain to be an attractive option. It appears to remove a lot of frustrating aspects from the game, turning it more into an MMO than akin to a free-to-play game with frustration mechanics. Alternatively, those not interested in spending more money on Fallout 76 will likely see Fallout 1st as an insult and that its benefits should be made available for free. Nevertheless, this is the direction Bethesda sees Fallout 76 going in.
Fallout 76 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
