Gamers are still unsure what to make of Fallout 76. The upcoming game by Bethesda is blurring the lines between what a traditional singleplayer game and modern multiplayer games mean. However, we do know one thing by now. It will feature no NPCs at all. Every character encountered by players in the game will be controlled by human players. Bethesda global marketing and communications SVP Pete Hines is here to clarify what that means.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Hines explained: “In Destiny, they still have NPCs. If you want to buy something you don’t go to other players – you can’t go to other players. You go to NPCs and say ‘I wanna buy this, I saved up enough of these things’.”
He continued: “In our game, if that’s how you want to play, you do that with other players, you trade with other people, you travel around the map and buy and sell stuff from folks. Or you can set up a shop. But it’s still a role-playing game. Yes, there’s an element of PvP but it’s not every man for himself and the last one standing wins. If you see somebody, you [don’t] have to kill them before they kill you because it’s not a shooter, it’s not battle royale or any one of 100 other things that people assumed that it was. It’s an RPG where you can still do quests and explore the world.”
The whole idea seems innovative, as it seems like it will truly be a role-playing game in every sense of the word. However, what is going to stop other players from killing everyone they see, turning the game into a senseless free-for-all? Hines said: “There are systems in place to keep it from turning into a gunfight if that’s not what people want.” We will have to wait and see how the gameplay will be like in the promised beta version of Fallout 76. At the time of writing, Bethesda hasn’t confirmed the official date for the beta. However, it’s safe to say that it will arrive before the game launches for the PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 14, 2018.
