Bethesda Softworks’ planned “next-gen update” for Fallout 4 that will deliver optimized PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game has been delayed to 2024. Bethesda previously said it would deliver that update sometime in 2023, but on Wednesday, with just 18 days left in the year, announced it would instead release it sometime in 2024.
“Thank you for your patience with us as we work on the Fallout 4 next-gen update,” Bethesda said on its official Fallout X account. “We know you’re excited, and so are we! But we need a bit more time and look forward to an exciting return to the Commonwealth in 2024.”
Fallout 4’s next-gen update was announced in October 2022. Bethesda then promised “performance mode features for high frame rates, quality features for 4K resolution gameplay,” and unspecified bug fixes for PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
Bethesda released a similar update for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim in 2021, optimizing that game with enhanced graphics, faster loading times, and other tweaks for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Before that, Bethesda released an Xbox One X update for Fallout 4 that enabled 4K resolution and 30 fps frame rates. Fallout 4 is currently playable on Xbox Series X and takes advantage of Microsoft’s FPS Boost feature.
Fallout 4’s next-gen update being delayed isn’t too surprising, based on Bethesda’s silence around the update. But it should now coincide with the release of Amazon’s Fallout TV series, which is coming to Prime Video in April.
Bethesda originally released Fallout 4 in 2015 for PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. In Polygon’s review of the game, we said that “Fallout 4 has all the ambiance and history that made its predecessors such wonderful places to get lost for hours at a time, with a much more coherent set of stories within it.” Fallout 4 is the best-selling game in the sci-fi franchise, with Bethesda boasting 12 million copies shipped on day one.
