Since the release of Fallout 76 back in 2018, fans have been yearning for nothing but these two core features that nearly every multiplayer game has: crossplay and cross-progression across platforms. And while Bethesda’s Creative Director Jonathon Rush and Production Director Bill LaCoste have not fully crossed it out from adding these features in the future, they seem to be biased towards not adding it at all, according to their recent conversation with the Iron Lords Podcast at a recent media-exclusive event.
The Production Director has explicitly stated that technical features like these are often pitched during the development of the game, and to rather add them after the title has already been launched poses a huge challenge to be dealt with by the developers.
Why Fallout 76 Still Lacks Crossplay and Cross Progression After 7 Years
From its 2018 launch, Fallout 76 was built on Bethesda’s Creation Engine and bespoke backend infrastructure that failed to give any regard to corporate multiple platforms into one. As stated before by the official Production Director of the studio, decisions about crossplay and shared progression usually must be decided from the very start, something which was not the case with Fallout 76
At the aforementioned media event ahead of the Burning Springs update, the officials described crossplay and cross-progression as a “huge technical lift“, given the existing structure of the game. However, LaCoste did clarify that “it’s never a no“, implying that while these features quite literally require the restructure of the game’s core, it might just be taken upon in the future.
Todd Howard, the game director at Bethesda, has also acknowledged these constraints in an interview with Kinda Funny Games, explaining how the architecture for the Creation Engine does not account for crossplay, at least back when Fallout 76 was in development.
How Fallout 76 Is Making up for Its Lack of Core Features Through DLCs
While the absence of a few core features in Fallout 76 continues to sting the player base, the inability to offer crossplay or cross-progression has made Bethesda lean heavily into investing in content expansions and DLCs to keep the game relevant and to keep the player base engaged.
One of these major content pushes is the upcoming Burning Springs update. Slated for early December 2025 for a free launch across all platforms, this update introduces a new desert region inspired by Fallout: New Vegas, and has elements tied to the Fallout TV series, including a crossover with Walton Goggins reprising his role as The Ghoul in the game.
Beyond full expansions, Bethesda has consistently delivered smaller DLC packs and cosmetic bundles that have helped maintain player interest. This content drop almost serves as compensation for whatever feature the game lacks.
Do you look forward to Fallout 76 potentially getting crossplay and cross-progression across platforms in the future? Share your views in the comments below!
