The Fallout 76 beta announcement revealed that testers will already gain access to the full game and also that Bethesda will not offer the online multiplayer survival game on Steam.
Bethesda first teased Fallout 76 in May before the game was officially announced at E3 2018. More details about it have trickled out since then, hyping up the latest entry for the massively popular post-apocalyptic franchise.
Fallout 76 Beta To Include Full Game
Bethesda will launch the Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. (Break-It Early Test Application) in October to selected players who have sent in their preorders. These players, however, will not get a limited version of Fallout 76 but rather the complete game.
"Our current plan for the B.E.T.A. is it will be the full game and all your progress is saved for launch," said Bethesda in the Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. FAQ uploaded on the official Fallout website. Players will be able to explore and test every part of the game before its official release.
Bethesda also clarified that there will be no non-disclosure agreement for Fallout 76 beta testers. This means that as soon as they gain access to the game, they will be allowed to start discussions, post screenshots, and upload streams for Fallout 76.
The Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. will launch first on the Xbox One, followed by the PlayStation 4 and PC. However, no specific date has so far been confirmed.
Fallout 76 Steam Listing Not Going To Happen
The Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. FAQ also revealed that Bethesda will not be launching the game on Valve's Steam platform, the first time for the series in a decade.
The FAQ mentioned the Bethesda.net store and launcher for the Windows version of the game, but there was no mention of Steam. It then confirmed that the PC version of Fallout 76 will only be available through Bethesda.net, as the publisher has apparently decided to pull the game from the download services of a rival.
It is unclear whether Fallout 76 will eventually find its way to Steam, where Valve charges a 30 percent fee to third-party publishers for all transactions.
What Else Do We Know About Fallout 76?
According to Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard, the Fallout 76 map will be four times the size of the Fallout 4 map. The game will also encourage players to form teams, but it is not required.
Bethesda, however, confirmed that there will be no Fallout 76 cross-play for consoles, unsurprisingly due to Sony. The company has had a hard stance against opening up the PlayStation 4 to cross-play, and Fallout 76 will not be the game that makes Sony change its mind on the matter.
