Next year, Fallout 4 will be receiving a next-gen update as part of the Fallout franchise’s 25th anniversary. This update will come completely free to those who already own the game, and it will include a plethora of updates to entice players to return to the wasteland. Skyrim’s next-gen update came in the form of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, but Bethesda chose to charge people to experience Skyrim on new hardware instead of offering it for free to those who already owned it. These two approaches are in stark contrast to each other, and some players have been left wondering why.
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Skyrim Next-Gen Costs Money
Bethesda has released Skyrim so many times that it has become an internet meme, and it shows no signs of stopping. The game was originally released for PS3 and Xbox 360 back in 2011, and the first re-release occurred two years later. The re-release was called The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Legendary Edition which bundled all the DLC and the base game together. This version was perfect for players who had not purchased the game yet, and everyone who wanted to experience this groundbreaking title.
The second re-release happened when the PS4 and Xbox One hit store shelves, and it was known as the Special Edition. This version was free on Steam to anyone who owned the original title and its DLC, but it costs money for everybody else. In 2021, Bethesda released the next-gen version of Skyrim called the Anniversary Edition, and it charged money for it again. People who had never played Skyrim could buy it for $49.99 while owners of the Special Edition could pick it up for $19.99. It was also not included in Game Pass, and that forced players who wanted to experience a next-gen version of Tamriel to buy Skyrim another time.
Fallout 4 Next-Gen is Free
While Skyrim has had many re-releases that have all cost money, Fallout 4 has not received the same treatment. The only re-release that Fallout 4 saw was the release of the Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition which bundled all the DLC together in one package. The first next-gen update that Fallout 4 is getting will be completely free to owners of the original game. Players will just have to update their games, and they will be able to jump into a fancier version of the Commonwealth.
The Fallout 4 next-gen update will boost the frame rate and give the game a 4K resolution makeover. Bethesda has also said that it will contain many bug fixes and contain bonus Creation Club content. Not much else is known about this update, or what type of bonus content will be included. All that Bethesda has said is that the update is launching sometime in 2023, and players will not have to spend a dime.
The way that Bethesda has treated Skyrim and Fallout 4 is very different. There are many reasons for why Bethesda might be doing this, and players can only speculate. Whatever the case is, it will hopefully not be the last time Bethesda offers a free next-gen update instead of asking for players to constantly buy the same game.
Fallout 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a PS5 and Xbox Series X/S version coming in 2023.
