As part of the patch notes for Fallout 76’s latest update, dubbed Infestation, Bethesda has confirmed that it is now testing out current-gen console versions of the title. So far, Xbox Series X/S and PS5 players have only been able to access the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game, respectively, through backwards compatibility. From this month onwards, anyone who owns a copy of the previous-gen version of Fallout 76 will be able to access Xbox Series X/S and PS5 and PS5 Pro versions of the title as well.
It is worth noting that it is going to be a test version, so players should be ready to expect bugs and other technical issues. Bethesda aims to wrap up testing and will release the full versions for current-gen consoles later this summer.
Among the improvements for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Fallout 76 are a frame rate of 60 FPS across all current-gen consoles, improved draw distances, improved shadows, 4K resolution on Xbox Series X, Xbox One X, and PS5 Pro, support for variable refresh rate displays on Xbox Series X/S and PS5, and support for 1440p displays on the base PS5 and PS4 Pro consoles. Versions for Xbox One and PS4 will continue to run at 1080p.
This announcement comes after Bethesda had first confirmed that PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Fallout 76 were in the works back in October 2025. At the time, the company had noted that it was aiming for a 2026 launch window for the current-gen versions.
In the meantime, it is still unknown whether or not the company is working on cross-platform multiplayer for Fallout 76. Back in February, creative director Jon Rush and production director Bill LaCoste had acknowledged that it was a much-requested feature, and that it was still on the table for future development. However, they noted that the studio was facing “technical hurdles” that date all the way back to when Fallout 76 first began development.
“We are looking into it, and we have plans to try to scope out what that work is going to entail for us,” said Rush in an interview. “It’s just not in the immediate plans for us. We know players want it.”
LaCoste went into more technical detail, noting that it was difficult to retrofit in new features like crossplay into the Creation Engine, which was used for the development of Fallout 76.
“It’s just huge technical hurdles that are things that you tackle before release, during your actual development of the product,” he explained. “So going back and retrofitting it to do that, when you have different places that players are pointing into, and now you’re having to worry about entitlements and account purchases and currency.”
“What we can promise players is that we will continue to investigate, we will continue to try to establish plans to make that a thing in the future, just not in the short term,” he continued.
In the meantime, you can check out the new content brought into Fallout 76 by the Infestation update, which gives players a new source of 4-Star Legendary items.
