Summary
Despite its calamitous launch,Fallout 76has undergone something of a redemption arc in recent years. However, though the game’s bugs and lack of content have been cleaned up to some degree,Fallout 76is still missing a feature it would hugely benefit from: cross-saves.
Fallout 76’s launch was botched in a historic way. Arriving in 2018 when the live-service model was still young, the title came about with little content and many bugs. Moreover, the game was surrounded by disasters.Fallout 76’s Power Armor edition was miredin controversy, with the canvas bags it was advertised as having being made of nylon—and Bethesda’s attempt to rectify this issue leading to player information being compromised. In addition, there were bugs related to the game’s nukes, a patch that put fixed bugs back into the title, a $100 subscription service, an incident where a player with 900 hours of gametime got banned for having too much ammo, and more.
Fallout 76 Still Needs Cross-Saving
With all of these problems,Fallout 76’s ability to survive 6 years, sporting a larger playerbase than many live-service titles released today, is quite impressive. Many fans seeFallout 76as worth playing in 2024, especially as Bethesda is continuing to bring major updates to the game. However, after 6 years,Fallout 76is still missing a feature that would let players save their progress to other platforms. There is some level of cross-saving through the Xbox App on PC or Steam, but PC and console versions do not share progress and purchased atoms/Fallout 1st memberships stay on the platform they were bought.
Cross-Saving Should Be Part Of Xbox’s Multiplatform Strategy
Xbox has been making some big multiplatform movesas of recent, spreading games likeGrounded,Hi-Fi Rush, andSea of Thievesto other consoles. This has been motivated by the growing costs of game development and the tastes of Gen Z, and rumors have flown that other titles (such as Bethesda’s own upcomingIndiana Jonestitle) will follow suit.
WithFallout 76releasing constant updates, it could be said to be one of Microsoft’s main live service titles alongsideDiablo IVandSea of Thieves. If Xbox really wants to lean into multiplatform play, allowing cross-saving inFallout 76would be a great move. Going outside the Xbox ecosystem for cross-progression would facilitate the investment of individual players by keeping them with the game regardless of system. It would help keepFallout 76going for some time longer and serve as a great gesture to its community.
Cross-Saving Should Really Be In Place For Fallout 1st
One of the most derided aspects ofFallout 76is its aforementioned $100-a-year subscription service, which itself arrived with a fair share of bugs.Fallout 1st caught a great dealof backlash upon its rollout in 2019, as not only was it a huge ask for a game that, at the time, was bereft of content like NPCs (which were pushed back right before the service was announced), but the subscription’s features were full of holes. The additional storage space it offered ended up destroying items, while its private worlds weren’t so private on launch.
ThoughFallout 1st has received added valuesince its inception, it’s still an incredibly expensive service. With this in mind, it’s not too big of an ask for the service to be saved across platforms. A fan willing to invest an amount roughly equivalent to an entire Game Pass subscription inFallout 76should at least have some peace of mind when changing platforms. As this would likely necessitate other content to be cross-saved, it’s all the more reason for Bethesda to bite the bullet and enable cross-saving.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
