Bethesda has announced native versions of Fallout 76 are coming to Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 early 2026.
The announcement came as part of Bethesda’s Fallout Day broadcast, which also brought news that “optimizations” are coming for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players, too. Bethesda didn’t reveal any more info on what these new versions of Fallout 76 actually do.
However, Bethesda did use Fallout Day to show more of Fallout 76’s Burning Springs update, which is due out December 2, 2025. This is the big update that expands the map to include a brand-new arid region in Ohio, where players will encounter the raider-like supermutant Rust King, battle desert Deathclaws, and join up with friends in two new public events.
But the headline here is the new bounty hunting system, which is led by The Ghoul from the Fallout TV show. Actor Walton Goggins has reprised his role for Fallout 76 with new voice work. It’s a well-timed update, given Season 2 of the Fallout TV show is set to him Prime Video in December.
Timeline wise (both Fallout 76 and the Fallout TV show are canon), it turns out The Ghoul set up shop in Ohio to run a bounty hunting operation before the post-apocalyptic events of the Fallout TV series, which takes place after all the Fallout games.
It’s worth remembering where we are in the overall Fallout timeline: the TV show is set in the year 2296, Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, while Fallout: New Vegas is set in the year 2281, a full 15 years prior to the events of the show.
The Fallout 76 timeline, meanwhile, begins in 2102, on October 23, known as Reclamation Day. It is the earliest game in the Fallout franchise, set 25 years after the Great War of 2077, when nuclear bombs devastated the Earth. We know from Season 1 of the Fallout TV show that The Ghoul has survived for over 200 years out in the wasteland. Now we know some of what he was up to.
For more, check out everything announced during the Fallout Day broadcast.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.