The Fallout 76 beta has been announced on the Bethesda forums and will begin in October.
Normally, we’re against pre-orders here at TheGamer’s offices. They provide studios with too much opportunity to just cut and run by providing a half-baked product and no incentive to finish since they’ve already got your money.
But Bethesda is a quality developer with way too high a reputation to pull such pranks. Plus, they give their pre-order gamers a little more incentive than just some random cosmetics or in-game items. They’re letting pre-orders play their game before anyone else.
According to a recent post on the Bethesda forums, anyone who pre-orders Fallout 76 will be invited to take part in their beta starting sometime in October.
"We’ll start small and grow over time as we prepare for launch," wrote a Bethesda community administrator. What this means is that Bethesda will randomly pick a few pre-orders to gain beta access before anyone else, and then slowly add the rest of the pre-order group over time. Eventually, everyone who pre-orders the game will get access to the beta ahead of their actual launch in the middle of November.
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Everyone who pre-orders the game will get a redemption code on either the receipt or on their email confirmation. That redemption code can then be redeemed at Bethesda.net to gain access to the beta. You’ll need to be 18+, have a Bethesda account (which you can easily create for free), and naturally, have an internet connection.
If you don’t get a redemption code on your receipt, contact your retailer’s customer service to demand one.
This just gets you into the beta queue. Further instructions on how to download and play the game will come at a later date once Bethesda has figured it all out.
The beta will be coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and on PC users, but Xbox One players will gain access first. Why? We’re not sure. Maybe some sort of backroom deal with Microsoft.
Bethesda will be answering more questions about Fallout 76 at QuakeCon in Dallas in August, so stay tuned here for more info!