Bethesda has announced today that the upcoming 'Wastelanders update' for 'Fallout 76' has been delayed. The DLC which was originally scheduled for release on April 7 will now be released a week later.

Blame it on Coronavirus

Bethesda revealed the disappointing news via Twitter, explaining that the DLC for Fallout 76 was delayed "for the safety of everyone" as the company faces down the threat of the Coronavirus outbreak. The team working on the update "have transitioned to remote work" to prevent widespread of the deadly respiratory illness currently sweeping the globe.

The COVID-19 strain has taken the world by storm; spreading to many countries; impeding many industries including the gaming industry, and claiming thousands of lives since its wake discovery in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019.

In related news, the Nintendo Switch port for the hit RPG 'The Outer Worlds' was also delayed due to the developer Obsidian Entertainment taking similar measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Besides development delays, it seems the spread of the Coronavirus could also impact finished titles set to be released later this year. These include 'Resident Evil 3 Remake' (April 3), 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' (April 10), and 'The Last of Us II' (May 29).

What's in the update

The 'Wastelanders update' is meant to supply the most important demands of many players by adding a slew of much-needed features to the MMO. Primarily, the DLC adds NPCs that were absent from 'Fallout 76' since its launch in 2018 and are the most requested feature thus far.

Besides NPCs, the DLC also adds a new story complete with new locations, quest system, reputation system, and loot to 'Fallout 76.' Bethesda had also planned to roll out the full game along with its update on Steam the same day, ending the Bethesda launcher's exclusivity of its PC version.

This delay, however, isn't the first one as the DLC was already postponed for a year prior to its announcement for further development.

Thanks to the many improvements boasted in the 'Wastelanders Update,' the latest DLC is considered to be the most important one coming to 'Fallout 76,' a game plagued with several issues including game-breaking bugs, exploits, over-monetization, and haphazard promotion Bethesda's part.

Fallout 76 quickly became one of the most lauded games of the decade due to these many issues, some of which still remain as Bethesda couldn't quite remedy them with any of the other updates already released prior.

Hopefully, the 'Wastelanders update' finally gives 'Fallout 76' players the experience they initially signed on to play. It's especially important that it encourages them to stay indoors as that will help to limit the spread of the pandemic sweeping across the globe.
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