Fallout Shelter vault dwellers just got an early Christmas gift from Santa: the game now lets dwellers have pets, including the game franchise's beloved German Shepherd, Dogmeat.
Of course, even in the world of Fallout, there are two kinds of people: dog people and cat people. Fortunately, the game hasn't forgotten the latter, and also lets vault dwellers have felines, too. Why not have a furry companion who would sit in a corner licking itself, completely ignoring the fact that raiders have invaded the vault?
Bethesda reports on its blog that pets will also affect vault dwellers' productivity and happiness. The addition of Dogmeat is a notable one: the canine is most well-known as a companion throughout the Fallout franchise, most notably as the dog who cannot die in Fallout 4.
However, Bethesda didn't stop there and released other updates for the mobile game. After noting players' complaints about some dwellers not really doing much of anything for their vaults, they now have the option of letting vault overseers kick those slackers out into the Wasteland. The game also has new dialogue, including a few new pick-up lines for potential romance among dwellers.
Bethesda also improved upon managing dwellers and added a "sell-all" function to inventory. Finally, the developer made other improvements "because you can never have enough improvements or optimizations."
A previous update to the game added new features, too, such as the Mysterious Stranger, cloud saves and a new difficulty level.
One thing not mentioned by the developer on its blog, but noticeable within the game, is that the new update also brings the spirit of the holidays to Fallout Shelter. Not only is there new holiday gear to decorate vaults with, but it's now snowing in the Wasteland (welcome to nuclear winter?). There's even a Santa suit option for your dwellers: be sure to sit on Santa's lap and ask him for a holiday free of Deathclaws.
The mobile title also celebrated Halloween earlier this year, complete with Jack O'lanterns, witches, skeletons, spider webs and bats.
Fallout Shelter released earlier this year as a sort of mobile precursor to Bethesda's new console and PC title Fallout 4. However, the game quickly became a favorite to fans of the franchise, thanks to its quirky humor and weirdness.
Fallout Shelter is available now on iOS and Android. Fallout 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
