Author: Trafficblast

Fallout 76, like previous games in Bethesda’s franchise, will feature mods, but how will they work with the game’s new always-online, multiplayer focus? We chatted with Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines recently, and he told us that mods in Fallout 76 will only run on private servers.

“Mod support is going to be tied to work that we’re also doing on private servers, and letting people do private servers. Mods will be a thing that run on private servers,” he said.

Hines said it’s unlikely Bethesda will ever allow mods to run on Fallout 76’s 24-player public servers. Mods are user-created modifications that are capable of doing pretty much anything people can think up, so it makes sense that Bethesda wants to restrict them to private servers to help ensure a semblance of fairness.

“I don’t foresee a universe in which we allow players to come in [to Fallout 76’s public servers] with their own unique and different mods. If you want to run mods, they’ll have to be done on a private server,” Hines explained. “You’ll be deciding what sort of mods you’re including and running, and everyone playing on that server is playing with those mods.”

Mods aren’t coming to Fallout 76 at launch, however. Hines cautioned that mods may not be supported in Fallout 76 until November 2019 at the soonest. “It’s going to be a lot of work. But mods and private servers are definitely coming,” Hines said.

Mods in Bethesda games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim have been and continue to exceptionally popular and helping contribute to the longevity of those games and others across the industry. Those games, however, are exclusively single-player experiences, whereas Fallout 76 is always-online.

Fallout 4 and Skyrim initially only supported mods on PC, but they later came to PS4 and Xbox One, albeit with some limitations. It remains to be seen if Fallout 76 mods will launch first on PC.

GameSpot recently had the opportunity to play three hours of Fallout 76. For lots more, check out our deep-dive written preview and video coverage in the embed above. You can also check out some recent news stories and videos through the links below.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has hired Canadian studio Digital Scapes to work alongside the Polish developer on the much-anticipated role-playing game. Digital Scapes worked with another Polish studio, Techland, on Dying Light‘s Be The Zombie PvP mode, but there is no word yet on how Digital Scapes is contributing to Cyberpunk 2077.

According to PC Gamer, a press release from CD Projekt Red specifically called out Digital Scapes’ history with “AAA multiplayer console and PC game development, development tool creation, asset production, and cloud computing.”

Digital Scapes boss Michal Nowakowsi said in the press release that the deal is for a long-term partnership related to “talent, experience, and technical knowledge.”

Cyberpunk 2077 features multiplayer support in some capacity, but the game is billed as a “true RPG and definitely not a multiplayer shooter.”

CD Projekt Red’s Patrick Mills told Eurogamer in June that the studio was working on multiplayer functionality for Cyberpunk 2077 in an R&D sense. He teased that multiplayer may come after launch.

According to Variety, Digital Scapes will be helping CD Projekt Red with “creating and optimising technological solutions” to help in Cyberpunk 2077’s development.

GameSpot has contacted both CD Projekt Red and Digital Scapes in an attempt to get further details on this new partnership.

Cyberpunk 2077 places players in the role of V, a mercenary who can be augmented with all manner of cybernetic enhancements. The game is set in the futuristic dystopian metropolis Night City, and unlike the Witcher titles, it is played in first-person. You can watch 48 minutes of gameplay in the video embedded above.