Bethesda's online RPG Fallout 76 has transformed significantly since its infamously rocky release back in late 2018, and Bethesda's Todd Howard has revealed Xbox boss Phil Spencer played a part in turning its fortunes around.
Howard pulled no punches when talking about the game during the recent Xbox / Bethesda roundtable:
"When that game launched, the litany of issues we had... we let a lot of people down, and there was very little we didn't screw up honestly. And one of the people that I called was Phil [Spencer], and I said 'there are so many things we're dealing with, what advice do you have?'"
The Bethesda exec explained that he sees Fallout 76 as "a point in my mind in our relationship" that means a great deal to him, enthusing that Spencer and the Xbox team's advice ultimately proved invaluable.
"He put me in touch with some people at Xbox who were able to look at all of the games in the system and what was important and what wasn't important, [and compare them] to the other games that made it for the long haul. And that kind of advice really, really helped us, and now seeing Fallout 76 being one of the most played games on Xbox, we're incredibly fortunate to be there."
Fallout 76 has turned itself around in recent times, and the game was made available on Xbox Game Pass back in July 2020. Now, with the acquisition, we're assuming it'll remain there for as long as people want to play it!
What do you make of this? Are you playing Fallout 76? Let us know down in the comments.
[source News: Video: Watch The Xbox Bethesda Roundtable Stream Here!]
Comments 7
I just find it interesting how people are saying how bad Bethesda is because they released a broken mess that was Fallout 76. Square Enix originally released Final Fantasy 14 in a broken state as well and people hated it but then they fixed all the issues and now it's regarded as one of the best MMORPGs you can play today.
Point is that just because a studio messes up once doesn't mean that it forever is a bad studio or that the game cannot recover. I can't speak for it myself, but isn't Fallout 76 a much better game today than what it was when it came out two years ago thanks to all the updates it's been receiving?
@LtSarge very true. I haven't played any fallout games yet but heard about the launch being a mess. But i think that them rushing the game out for revenue targets was likely a reason for all the issues. Hopefully with them being part of Xbox they don't stress about that and make proper games that are ready to launch. It sure sounded that way when they were talking yesterday. Also they literally sounded like a bunch of buddies hanging out, i really am looking forward to what they can do together.
@LtSarge yeah, with these sorts of games you can't say its actually bad until its first year finishes and they drop the big update. Anthem seems to be the first one to fail at making itself better.
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Did they not suggest that having a premium monthly subscription in a none free to play game where you already have to be a subscriber to Xbox live gold / playstation plus just to be able to play the game was a bad idea ?
As someone that paid $60 for this day one, my only memory of the game is attempting to play of for an evening the very first night. I don't think that first impression will ever leave my mind. It was the most bland, empty, and uninteresting game I've ever played. I'd rather play Balan Wonderworld.
For me I don't think it could fix it enough for me to touch it even if they just swapped the executable with a remaster of fallout 2.
Never played it, but MMO's that succeed, they don't charge you for the base game then a subscription fee.
Base game should always be free if there's a subscription, then charge for any expansions down the line.
@blinx01 FFXIV it's very successful, charges for the base game, the big updates, AND the subscription fee.
Ok the other extreme is ESO that charges for the base and updates, but no subscription, but with an optional sub that gives you all the dlc, discounts, and it's kind of essential for heavy crafters. I think including that sub in game pass ultimate might be likely now that it's first party and costs them little to add.
Of course 76 isn't an MMO.... So says Todd.
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