Fallout 76 now hits 60 FPS on Xbox Series X|S and PS5
A secret improvement.
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What you need to know
Stealth updates are always interesting, especially when a game suddenly runs much better.
Following a recent patch forFallout 76, players on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles have noticed that the game is running smoother and looks better. There’s nothing in thepatch notes, but it appears that this update gave the game a 60 FPS refresh target on the latest machines from Microsoft and Sony.
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Fallout 76 also seems to look a bit better, with clearer image quality, especially when viewing something in the distance. I tested this, and while I’ll let Digital Foundry give a full breakdown (if they can, I know those guys stay busy) this definitely looks better than the version I played for several hours the last couple of years.
Fallout 76 and a handful of other Bethesda games got Xbox FPS Boost support when Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, allowing Xbox Series X|S users to play at 60 FPS. This required disabling the Xbox One X visual settings however, meaning the game was quite blurry, running at Xbox One S settings in order to achieve the enhanced framerate.
I checked and following this recent patch, the option to enable FPS Boost has been disabled, indicating that this was definitely a conscious decision.
Outside of this, the latest patch introduced a number of bug fixes and tweaks, as well as the Once in a Blue Moon update, which introduces new quests and new cryptids in the form of the Ogua (better known as the Monongahela River Monster) and the Blue Devil, a werewolf-like beast.
Windows Central’s take
It’s a bit odd this wasn’t mentioned by Bethesda Game Studios in the patch notes, because it’s a great feature. I don’t play Fallout 76 as much as I used to, but knowing that it’ll play smoother and look better gives me some encouragement to hop back in for a bit.
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I’m also still looking forward to the propercurrent-generation update for Fallout 4, which is due sometime this year. Will it be available beforeStarfieldthough? I’m skeptical.
Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
