Bethesda is adding a subscription model to its multiplayer sandbox game, Fallout 76. The premium membership will cost $12 a month, or $100 upfront for the year, and will give players a number of features that they've been asking for for a long time. One of the most impactful will be private servers, where players can play alone, or with a number of friends.
Fallout 76 never really took off like Bethesda hoped it would, but it's been a moderately successful entry in the series that built off of the success of Fallout 4 in mainstream gaming culture. There is still some money to be made from it, it seems, though, as Bethesda is looking to expand it in all the ways players want... but they'll have to pay for the privilege.
Premium subscribers will get a scrapbox for storing unlimited junk, a survival tent that sets up a fast-travel point wherever you want, a sleeping bag, 1,650 Atoms per month to use in the in-game shop, a specialized ranger armor, new icons and emotes, but most importantly, the option of private games.
The private worlds will let you and up to seven friends (only the owner need be a premium subscriber) to play together without other people in there, but you can also play by yourself if you like the idea of a classic Fallout experience in Fallout 76's world.
Fallout 76 still has its first big expansion on the way, but that's been delayed until 2020.
