What you need to know
- Fallout 76 first launched all the way back in 2018.
- Since then, the game has received numerous updates and expansions addressing player feedback and adding new quests.
- Following a recent patch, Fallout 76 appears to officially run at 60 FPS on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 with improved visuals.
Stealth updates are always interesting, especially when a game suddenly runs much better.
Following a recent patch for Fallout 76, players on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles have noticed that the game is running smoother and looks better. There's nothing in the patch notes, but it appears that this update gave the game a 60 FPS refresh target on the latest machines from Microsoft and Sony.
Fallout 76 also seems to look a bit better, with clearer image quality, especially when viewing something in the distance. I tested this, and while I'll let Digital Foundry give a full breakdown (if they can, I know those guys stay busy) this definitely looks better than the version I played for several hours the last couple of years.
Fallout 76 and a handful of other Bethesda games got Xbox FPS Boost support when Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, allowing Xbox Series X|S users to play at 60 FPS. This required disabling the Xbox One X visual settings however, meaning the game was quite blurry, running at Xbox One S settings in order to achieve the enhanced framerate.
I checked and following this recent patch, the option to enable FPS Boost has been disabled, indicating that this was definitely a conscious decision.
Outside of this, the latest patch introduced a number of bug fixes and tweaks, as well as the Once in a Blue Moon update, which introduces new quests and new cryptids in the form of the Ogua (better known as the Monongahela River Monster) and the Blue Devil, a werewolf-like beast.
Windows Central's take
It's a bit odd this wasn't mentioned by Bethesda Game Studios in the patch notes, because it's a great feature. I don't play Fallout 76 as much as I used to, but knowing that it'll play smoother and look better gives me some encouragement to hop back in for a bit.
I'm also still looking forward to the proper current-generation update for Fallout 4, which is due sometime this year. Will it be available before Starfield though? I'm skeptical.
