The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was a massive success for Bethesda, and not just because the game itself was fantastic. After going through some growing pains with Oblivion and Fallout 3, it seemed as if Bethesda finally found a DLC strategy that worked for them. The game's expansions, while a bit pricier than most DLC, were absolutely stuffed with content - and, if you couldn't afford the expansions, there were still a litany of smaller, free updates to play around with.
Thankfully, Bethesda is bringing this same strategy back for Fallout 4. In a new post on the publisher's blog, Bethesda detailed what Fallout 4's post-launch content will look like - and while it's mostly good news, there are still some big questions that need answering.
First up are the free content updates: much like Skyrim's Kill Cam and Legendary Mode patches, Fallout 4 will receive numerous free tweaks once the game launches. With Skyrim, Bethesda used these updates to address player requests, and the publisher has confirmed that the same will hold true with Fallout 4. As a result, there's not much in the way of details, but it's nice to know that they'll be coming back.
Modding is a huge part of every Bethesda game, and Fallout 4 is no exception: Bethesda has already confirmed that the new 'Creation Kit' toolset will launch sometime early next year, and reiterated that approved mods will be making their way to consoles for the first time ever.
Finally, Bethesda announced the game's season pass: for $30, players can essentially pre-order every piece of DLC that Fallout 4 will ever receive. Judging by Skyrim's numerous expansions, $30 is a great deal - that being said, Bethesda doesn't quite know what Fallout 4's DLC will look like just yet.
"Since we're still hard at work on the game, we don't know what the actual DLC will be yet, but it will start coming early next year. Based on what we did for Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim, we know that it will be worth at least $40, and if we do more, you'll get it all with the Season Pass."
While it's nice that Bethesda is being honest about the game's DLC and where they are in its development, asking gamers for $30 before the expansion packs have even been conceived is a bit much. It's almost guaranteed that Fallout 4's season pass will be worth every penny - it just feels a little shady to ask fans to throw down money before the product's even in development.
At the very least, Fallout 4's season pass won't cost as much as the game itself.
Fallout 4 is looking to be an absolutely massive game, and Bethesda won't be slowing down after launch - let's just hope that Fallout 4's DLC is worth the asking price.
The wait is almost over: Fallout 4 hits store shelves on Nov. 10.
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