Fallout 4 Is A Buggy Mess After Its Next-Gen Update

Shortly after Prime Video’s Fallout show launched to critical acclaim, Bethesda followed up with a well-timed next-gen update to Fallout 4. That’s great news for Fallout fans — unless they had wanted to play the game with all its new features. On Xbox, PlayStation, and PC alike, players are reporting issues with the Fallout 4 update, ranging from broken mods to bugs preventing the game from being played. While Bethesda says it’s aware and working on fixes, the Fallout 4 next-gen update seems, so far, as dysfunctional as the wasteland itself.

Bethesda launched the new patch on April 25, more than a year after announcing it was in the works. It brings native versions of the game for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S and support for resolutions up to 4K. Along with its “next-gen” features, the updates include some new Creation Club content and a host of bug fixes.

But at the same time, it also adds plenty of new bugs. Players almost immediately took to social media to express their frustration with the issues the update introduces, which are different on every platform.

On PC, the update breaks mod support, which is unsurprising as that’s a common consequence when games add new versions. It stings a bit more in this update, though, since broken mod support forced the developers of the long-awaited Fallout London mod to delay its release until it could run on the new version of the game.

What’s less expected is that the update’s new ultrawide monitor support simply stretches the old user interface to fit larger screen sizes, resulting in some players having UI elements pushed off the screen, making the game unplayable or at least very frustrating. What’s worse is that many players were already using mods to add ultrawide monitor support — and fix many of the game’s other issues — but that’s no longer an option thanks to newly broken mod support.

Players are reporting that Fallout 4 is unplayable on Steam Deck, and those who have got it running have found themselves unable to change graphics options.

Some PS5 players are also unable to play the game though for a different reason. Fallout 4 is available through PlayStation Plus, but anyone using that version of the game is currently unable to upgrade to the next-gen patch. Instead, users are being prompted to buy the game for access. Bethesda Support notified players on social media that PS Plus Extra subscribers will be getting the patch for free, but oddly said “We do not have any information regarding PS5 Catalogue or PS+ Essentials,” so it’s unclear if subscribers at the Essential tier will receive it. Bethesda also didn’t provide a timeframe for when the update will be working for PS Plus Extra subscribers.

For those who’ve purchased the game on PS5 and thus can play, it’s not quite the next-gen experience they were probably imagining. Users in the game’s subreddit report missing textures on environments, weapons, and characters, including textures for some of the new Creation Club content added in the patch.

Xbox Series X/S players seem to be having fewer technical hiccups in the game, with one major caveat. One of the biggest improvements in the next-gen update is the addition of Performance and Quality modes, which are standard for games on current consoles. However, only Fallout 4’s Performance mode, which trades slightly lower graphical fidelity for a higher framerate, appears to be working. The option to switch to Quality mode still exists in the game, but it simply doesn’t activate when players try to select it.

Big updates to games already as sprawling as Fallout 4 are always going to come with some jank, but for many players, it seems that this next-gen patch is a downgrade. For all the mess it’s caused, the update offers very little in terms of new content or features, while temporarily taking away more than it adds by disabling mods. The biggest problems with the next-gen update will likely be fixed before too long, but in the meantime, what should be a celebratory moment for Fallout fans may just have turned some players off of the latest single-player game in the series altogether.