Fallout 76 is approaching its one-year anniversary and the developers are still working hard on new content. Unfortunately, it seems like they won't be able to get the next big update out before the end of the year — the Fallout 76 Wastelanders Update has been delayed until the first quarter of 2020.
If you haven't been following Fallout 76, the Wastelanders Update is going to be a big one, if only because it will feature the debut of human NPCs in the game. The lack of non-hostile human NPCs was a major criticism of the game at its launch and that issue is now being rectified.
The addition of humans to the game is certainly the big-ticket item, but that won't be the only thing; you can see several screenshots highlighting some of the new content on the news post that announced the Fallout 76 Wastelanders Update delay.
Private Worlds Arriving, Atomic Shop Challenges Being Reworked
It's not all bad news, though! The work that the developers have been doing on private servers is more or less complete and this feature should be arriving sometime next week. There isn't much in the way of details about how these will work, but they did let one thing slip: at some future point, you'll be able to mod your private world.
Additionally, the Atomic Shop Challenges are going to be getting a bit of a rework next year. The developers are quite conscious about balancing the game's premium currency correctly judging by this portion of the news post:
We want to create an Atomic Shop experience where players feel good about spending their hard-earned Atoms. To make the system more fun and engaging for all players, we plan on reworking parts of the Challenge and reward system next year to be clearer, more fun, and more impactful for all types of players.
Of course, players can also buy Atoms, and we’re careful with everything we add to not upset the game’s balance. Our main objective is to avoid a situation where players can spend money to gain a competitive advantage or make the game worse for other players. Even more so, we want systems that allow players who do choose to buy Atoms to make the game better for others, not just themselves. With these principles in mind, we make careful decisions about the items we offer to keep it fair for everyone.
Additionally, in this section, they make clear that the repair kits, collectron station and other similar gameplay affecting purchases from the Atomic Shop will be remaining, as they cite them among the most purchased items. They state in part of it:
Our approach to these items at launch was to keep them purely cosmetic. But after looking at all the data, it became clear that to consistently deliver content that keeps Fallout 76 fresh and exciting for all, we needed to rethink our approach to the Atomic Shop.
While we had many ideas on what to add to the Atomic Shop, one of the ways was the direct result of the community’s feedback. We heard from many of you who wanted items with some real utility. Starting in April, we began adding items such as Repair Kits, Scrap Kits, the Collectron Station, and a working Refrigerator. These have since become the most popular category in the Atomic Shop. We’re also still working on all the previously announced items and new cosmetic categories.
Although the Fallout 76 Wastelanders Update has been delayed, there will still be "a few more updates" arriving before the end of 2019, some of which include previously-announced fixes and quality-of-life improvements. More details about this and other updates will be coming in the future.
What do you think about the Fallout 76 Wastelanders Update being delayed? Do you think it will bring people back into the game? Let us know in the comments below!
