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Fallout 76’s battle royale game mode Nuclear Winter closes this September

The MMO's battle royale mode gets sunset later this year

Fallout 76’s battle royale game mode will be sunset later this year, developer Bethesda has announced. Introduced to the post-apocalyptic MMORPG two years ago to the day, the mode sees 52 players fight it out to be the last survivor standing, but Bethesda has decided to end support for it come September.

“When we first introduced Nuclear Winter, we were thrilled to watch so many players from our community, as well as many newcomers, dive head first into our take on the ruthless last-player-standing battle royale genre,” the studio announces in the online RPG game’s latest ‘Inside the Vault’ dev post. “Over time, however, we’ve seen the vast majority of players prefer to explore other aspects of the game.” Bethesda also raises some other challenges it’s been facing in keeping the mode supported, such as in getting full lobbies together without sacrificing wait times, and creating “meaningful” updates for the mode alongside content for the game’s Adventure mode.

“With all of this in mind, we are currently planning to sunset Nuclear Winter Mode in an update coming this September,” Bethesda announces.

The studio acknowledges that many of the MMO’s players are hugely passionate about its battle royale mode, and that the news might be disappointing to Nuclear Winter fans. It explains that deciding to end the mode was a difficult call to make, and that it didn’t make that call lightly.

As for other content that might help fill the mode’s PvP-shaped gap, Bethesda does say that it’s “still working to provide methods of PvP combat for those who enjoy squaring off against other former Vault Dwellers” – and, that a “little later this year”, it’ll be sharing details on how it’s looking to offer players “even more ways to play Fallout 76”. Plus, the studio says it’ll be compensating everyone who jumped into Nuclear Winter, regardless of how often. There’ll be a reward of perk coins to fill your pockets, based on how many Overseer ranks you’ve achieved.

Each player will get six perk coins per Overseer rank, up to a maximum number of 600, along with one perk coin for each Overseer ticket gained, this time up to 200. Everyone who completed at least one match in the mode will also get a themed pennant for their CAMP.

For this week’s full rundown on what’s going on with the game, you can find the post here. Otherwise, check out our guide to the best MMOs and MMORPGs on our home platform at that link.