Bilawal Bashir 
Bethesda Game Studios announced that the popular post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4 will receive a new update that might make playing the next-gen versions worth it.
The Fallout series has seen a massive boom in popularity since the release of its TV adaptation. Players have swarmed back to Bethesda’s dystopian roleplaying games in droves. Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, and Fallout 4, in particular, have seen a massive jump in player count despite being almost a decade old.
In an attempt to capitalize on this, the game received a massive next-gen update that included native PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Fallout 4. While this was meant to bring better framerates, the ability to play at higher resolutions, and other improvements, any quality-of-life gains have been offset by performance issues and various bugs. Now Bethesda is positioned to fix some of the issues it created with another sizable update to the game.
When will Bethesda fix the next-gen Fallout 4 update?
Fallout 4 will receive a major update on Monday, May 13, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The next-gen update introduced some hefty performance issues to Fallout 4; the new update aims to rectify and improve those issues. Patch notes for the new update have yet to be released. Odds are that it will smooth the roughest edges that the previous update created. The new Fallout 4 update will automatically download on consoles and PCs if auto-update is enabled.
Fallout 4 is a 9-year-old game that is still receiving new updates. Fans of Bethesda games have played the title, thanks in part to both Bethesda and the dedicated modders who have offered up a steady stream of new content. Early adopters to Fallout 4 have gotten their money’s worth over the last decade.
Fallout’s popularity has never been higher, and the series’ visibility is only growing. Bethesda will is set to collaborate with Call of Duty on bringing skins based on the series to Modern Warfare 3. Another Bethesda Game Studios title, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, still sees thousands of players daily despite being over 12 years old. Microsoft is also focusing on releasing Fallout 5 soon after seeing interest in the series.
Is it worth getting Fallout 4 on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S?
Fallout 4’s next-gen versions will likely be worth getting after the May 13 updates. Bethesda Game Studios has not given details about the update, but it did clarify that the “update will include new options for graphics and performance settings.”
Fallout 4’s next-gen version has significant issues, particularly as it applies to the Xbox Series X/S version. Players can choose between a performance mode, which runs the game at 60 FPS and 4K resolution, or a graphics mode, which targets 4K at 30 FPS. However, Digital Foundry discovered that the settings don’t actually do anything on Xbox Series X consoles. The game is stuck in the 60 FPS performance mode with standard graphical settings, regardless of what players do.
The Xbox Series S version operates similarly. However, its performance mode runs a dynamic resolution between 1080p and 1440. The PlayStation 5 version, however, correctly switches between the two modes with additional options of toggling 1440p resolution and 120 Hz refresh rates. The latest update might remedy these issues, which would make Fallout 4 worth picking up on current-gen consoles.
