With the recent release of Fallout 76: Wastelanders, the return of NPCs and traditional Fallout-style storytelling has seen the online Fallout find some post-apocalyptic redemption. We sit down with Bethesda Game Studios to discuss its development, the troubled launch, and the road ahead.

A snippet from our chat with Fallout 76 Project Lead Jeff Gardine and Lead Designer Ferret Baudoin.

The return of NPCs sees tension and mystery return to the simple act of exploration. With Wastelanders the spotlight not only hits the Settlers that have created a new village called Foundation. Or, the Raiders that have turned the wreckage of a crashed space station into a shanty town called Crater. It hits the stage too – West Virginia.

“You need those quests, those drivers, to get lost in the world,” Ferret continues. “It's this weird sort of Catch 22, which we didn't realise when we were making Fallout 76. We were so focused on just making multiplayer Fallout. We were enamoured with things like the first time we heard gunshots over a hill, knowing it was another player. There are so many games that already do that, but we were lost in it. Bringing NPCs back, for me as a player, gives the context needed to head out and power up and get materials for my C.A.M.P.”

Click Here to Read Inside Fallout 76 – From Launch to Wastelanders and Beyond

Did you ask them why the f*** we don't have TES 6 yet? Or why they wasted time and money making 76 and not a proper fallout game? I am sure Starfield is nice and all but TES 6 and a new Fallout 5 would be far more important.