Bethesda is giving Fallout 76 a premium subscription

Despite controversies and poor critical reception, there is still a rather large group of dedicated players remaining active on Fallout 76. With some big content updates regenerating interest in the game, Bethesda appears to be looking to capitalise with a monthly/yearly subscription service that grants in-game benefits, access to private lobbies and more.

As spotted on the PlayStation Network store this week, Fallout 76 is getting a premium membership tier known as ‘Fallout 1^st’ with a monthly and yearly option. Those who subscribe will get 1650 Atoms (premium currency) per month, access to private worlds, unlimited storage for crafting components in a new scrapbox container, a survival tent to easily place a fast travel point without a full camp, an exclusive ranger armour outfit and exclusive emotes/icons.

Some of these additions will end up being more controversial. Many players had requested private worlds for the game prior to release but locking it behind a subscription paywall will raise some eyebrows- just as selling repair kits and other in-game, non-cosmetic items did.

According to the US PlayStation Network listing, there will be a $99.99 annual subscription and a $12.99 monthly one, which is on the expensive side for most videogame subscriptions. It isn’t a great value proposition in a world where Xbox Game Pass exists.

Bethesda has yet to formally announce this itself, but we should see an official statement on this soon. UPDATE: Bethesda has now posted the official announcement for Fallout 1st, which you can find HERE.

KitGuru Says: Some of these subscriber benefits seem quite fair. You get a good amount of currency, some exclusive cosmetics etc. However, private lobbies and to a lesser extent, the survival tent, do seem like major portions of the game that should be made available to everyone. What do you all think of the Fallout 1^st subscription? Will this act as another notch against the game, or is it a good idea?

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