“Fallout 76” will finally launch natively on Xbox Series X, S and PS5 in early 2026

Bethesda announces native version Fallout 76 It will be available on Xbox Series X, S and PlayStation 5 in early 2026.

The news comes as part of Bethesda's Fallout Days broadcast, which also brought news that there will be “optimizations” for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players as well. Bethesda has not revealed any more information about what the new version of Fallout 76 will actually do.

However, Bethesda did use Fallout Day to show off more Burning Springs update for Fallout 76to be released on December 2, 2025. This is a major update that expands the map to include a new arid region of Ohio, where players will encounter the predator-like super mutant Rust King, battle desert deathclaws, and participate in two new public events with friends.

But the headline news here is the new bounty hunting system, led by the ghouls from the Fallout TV show. Actor Walton Goggins reprises his role in Fallout 76 with new voice work. This is a perfectly timed update, as the second season of the Fallout TV show is set to air on Prime Video in December.

Looking at the timeline (Fallout 76 and the Fallout TV show are both canon), it turns out that the ghouls set up shop in Ohio for bounty hunting before the post-apocalyptic events of the Fallout TV series, which take place after all of the Fallout games.

It's worth remembering where we are in the overall Fallout timeline: the TV series is set in 2296, Fallout 4 is set in 2287, and Fallout: New Vegas is set in 2281, a full 15 years before the events of the show.

Meanwhile, the timeline of Fallout 76 begins on October 23, 2102, a day known as “Reclamation Day.” This is the earliest game in the Fallout series and is set 25 years after the World War in 2077, when nuclear bombs destroyed the earth. We know from the first season of the Fallout TV show that ghouls have been living in the wasteland for over 200 years. Now we know what he's doing.

For more information, check out Everything announced during the Fallout Days broadcast.

Wesley is IGN News Director. Find him on Twitter: @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or privately at [email protected].