Fallout 76 is still going strong, with ongoing support and new content updates that have brought the game into record-high player counts. The next content updates for Fallout 76 are slated to be the Atlantic City updates, with Bethesda revealing more and more as time goes on.
Game ZXC recently spoke with Fallout 76’s Art Director, Jonathan Rush, about what to expect from the new updates, as well as the reasoning behind why it has been divided into separate releases. The first of Fallout 76's Atlantic City updates is scheduled to be released on December 5, 2023, following Fallout 76’s weekly reset, while the second Atlantic City update does not yet have a release date.
What to Expect From Fallout 76’s Atlantic City Updates
Players have already gotten a strong hint of what’s to come in the first Atlantic City update with the latest Public Test Server for Fallout 76, where players can experience upcoming content updates firsthand and provide feedback to Bethesda on the game’s official Discord server. Although, as customary for Fallout 76’s PTS, not everything from the new update has been revealed ahead of its release. As for what players can expect from both of the Atlantic City updates, Rush said,
The first update will bring players Atlantic City and two missions. This carries with it several new locations within the region, as well as new factions, characters, creatures, and rewards. The second update expands the Atlantic City playscape, offering even more unique locations, and a third mission. Players will also get several Atlantic City quests and free exploration.
Rush explained that the first Atlantic City update is expected to bring multiple missions and Expeditions to Fallout 76, serving as a way for players to get introduced to the Atlantic City area as well as the locals. These “factions, and creatures” that Rush refers to are none other than the three survivor factions of Atlantic City that players will be working with, as well as the new Overgrown enemy type, and eventually the Jersey Devil cryptid.
The new missions and Expeditions from the first Atlantic City update will take place throughout the Boardwalk Paradise section of Atlantic City, while the second update will introduce the America’s Playground area and allow players to freely explore all of Atlantic City at their own pace at this point. According to Rush, while the first update will acclimate players to the ongoing situation between Atlantic City’s three factions, the questlines in the second update will show the impact of the three factions and the player’s presence in the new region. From there, it will even tie back into storylines from Fallout 76’s Appalachian wasteland.
Two Updates Are Better Than One
Since it was first announced, Fallout 76’s Atlantic City update has been revealed to be a two-part update. Regarding why the Atlantic City update was divided into separate releases, Rush explained,
What inspired the separation into two releases is mainly due to how those types of content differ as experienced by our players, and how those different experiences tonally support the stories we’re telling through the updates.
Many players expected to have the opportunity to free-roam the unfamiliar region before jumping into the new Expeditions in Fallout 76 head-on, but instead, Fallout 76 will be doing the opposite. Apparently, the studio feels that this pacing will provide a better experience throughout the updates, and also this format is aligned more with the questlines and other content that will be included in each update.
The split ultimately means that players will be spending a lot of time engaging with the Atlantic City content, which potentially means two Seasons and Scoreboards’ worth of appropriately-themed rewards. While the new content is plenty to get excited about, the release of the two Atlantic City updates will also bring several other changes and new features to the game, effectively providing new expansions for Fallout 76 as well as general game updates, free for all players.
