In every Fallout game, your pet is more than just a companion to haul your stuff through the wasteland. They’re your mate, your pal, your fuzzy best friend. And best friends always fight irradiated creatures and leather-clad bandits for you… except in Fallout 76.
In Fallout 76, tamed pets—which can be anything from a dog to a deathclaw—can defend your home from raiders and other ne’er-do-wells, but they can’t go with you on adventures. Once a pet is tamed, it works from home, but that might be changed in a future update.
In a press showing of the game’s brand-new Infestations update, which is just part of the team’s plan to make the map of Appalachia feel more “alive”, Bethesda teased other major additions to the game. While nothing is confirmed, one big tease hinted at finally allowing players to take their pets into the great expanse.
At the end of the press showing, creative director Jon Rush and production director Bill LaCoste had a fun back and forth. “You know, Bill, you know what would be awesome to take out in Infestation?” Rush asked. “I have lots of ideas,” Lacoste responded. “I understand you have ideas, me asking you is kind of a rhetorical question. Your [inaudible] ended when you started putting out the Builder’s Update,” Rush laughed. “Everybody loves Builder’s Update,” LaCoste said.
“Obviously, for me, and you keep shooting this down, and I hope someday you’ll just come around to accepting that it’s a good idea, but I would really love to take like my dog, my hog, even the Deathclaw that I just got, or about to get, you know my cat, into there [into Infestations],” LaCote continued. “Just give me something. I think that would be cool.”
“Your C.A.M.P pet?” Rush continued. “Our in the world? Fighting alongside you and with others?” To which LaCoste answered: “In the world, yes.” Rush: “Hmm. Could be something. Maybe for down the road.” Lead designer Carl McKevitt chimed in: “Sounds undoable. Not sure about that.” Rush retorted: “I don’t know if players would like that. Do you think?”
With all of that in mind, it certainly seems that pets will be made usable outside of the C.A.M.P environment at some point, although we don’t know when. Bethesda has committed to years of further updates for its online multiplayer spin-off, and major features are likely coming as a result.
Right now, Fallout 76 is on its seventh year of updates with the game’s eight anniversary just around the corner. Since the game’s troubled release, the multiplayer game has come a long way with the introduction of proper NPCs and even a whole new region. At the time of writing, millions of players are still playing the game every single day, and Bethesda is showing no sign of stopping support anytime soon.
While the Fallout 76 studio works on continued development of the online game, BGS proper is now working on The Elder Scrolls 6 which will not release this year. While Fallout 5 is reportedly in some form of pre-production, that game won’t be seen for a long time, although remasters of Fallout 3 and New Vegas are reportedly in the works.
