Bethesda revisits Fallout 76 cross-play and cross-progression demands, calls it a ‘huge technical lift’

Bethesda Game Studios has revisited the hotly debated absence of cross-play and cross-progression in its open-world RPG Fallout 76, which launched in 2018 and has undergone multiple updates throughout the years to address these concerns.

Speaking at a media-exclusive event in New York City on October 1, to present the upcoming Burning Springs update, the studio’s Creative Director Jonathon Rush and Production Director Bill LaCoste answered some questions from the Iron Lords about the community’s long-requested addition of cross-play. 

LaCoste addressed the elephant in the room and offered a measured response to the game’s foundational design choices. He said, “It’s never a no, right?” Meaning cross-play isn’t completely off the table for Fallout 76, but its implementation isn’t exactly feasible given the current progression of the game.

He followed up, stating, “But what I will say is that those decisions are usually made at the very beginning of development, and right now, it’s a huge technical lift for us to have cross-play and cross-progression in it.” 

He mentioned that cross-play and cross-progression are features that are always brought up in player feedback. He further added, “It’s something we get asked about constantly from players. I understand why. I’d love to go play on Steam and then go play on Xbox or PlayStation and just have my character, but right now, it’s a little bit too difficult for us to pull off.”

Todd Howard shared a similar response back in 2024, where he explained that Fallout 76’s architecture is built around proprietary server tech from the Creation Engine, which wasn’t initially engineered for seamless multi-platform integration.

Fallout 76 initially launched to widespread criticism for its bugs, empty promises, and lack of single-player options, but now serves a decent concurrent player count of 10,000 daily players. The Burning Springs update is slated for release across all platforms in December 2025 and is expected to be Bethesda’s biggest content drop for the game, introducing a new desert region drawing inspiration from Fallout: New Vegas’ Mojave Wasteland, riddled with toxic oil fields and mutated wildlife.

The update also marks the return of Walton Goggins as Cooper Howard from Amazon’s Fallout adaptation, who will serve as a fully voiced quest giver and companion.

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