Ten Years After Release: "Fallout 4" Re-released as Anniversary Edition

Bethesda is celebrating the tenth birthday of "Fallout 4" with an Anniversary Edition. As with "The Elder Scrolls 4: Skyrim," the package includes all updates and DLCs. The only new additions are some mods developed by the community, offered in Bethesda's paid mod store called Creation Club.

In addition, Bethesda is bringing the Anniversary Edition of "Fallout 4" to the Switch 2 – the first Switch version of the role-playing game. While the Anniversary Edition will be released on November 10th for PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Playstation 5, and Playstation 4, the Switch 2 variant is scheduled to launch next year.

Mod Split Possible

For long-time "Fallout 4" players, the release of the Anniversary Edition is likely to be a nuisance rather than a cause for celebration: The experience with "The Elder Scrolls 4: Skyrim" shows that the release could lead to a split in the modding community, at least initially. It is conceivable that certain mods will no longer work when switching to the new version.

With "Skyrim," existing users were not automatically switched to the Anniversary Edition but had to pay 20 Euros for the upgrade. It is likely that Bethesda will take a similar approach with "Fallout 4." Those who have curated and refined their mod list for years should refrain from doing so with "Fallout 4," at least initially.

Doubtful Innovations

The innovations in Bethesda's Anniversary Editions are questionable anyway: For the Anniversary Edition of "Skyrim," Bethesda implemented dozens of community mods, apparently without applying particularly critical judgment – many mods did not necessarily fit the mood and style of the role-playing game. In terms of quality, some of the implemented mods could not match the quality of the main game or many freely available mods.

This could also be the case with the Anniversary Edition of "Fallout 4": For example, a new mod offers the ability to change the race of the dog companion Dogmeat – for instance, to a Dalmatian. Also new is the ability to get the Power Armor and the Pip-Boy in pink.

The release of the Anniversary Edition of "Fallout 4" comes just a few weeks before the release of the second season of Amazon's Prime series "Fallout." Bethesda had already celebrated the release of the first season with a game upgrade – back then the graphics of "Fallout 4" were polished.

(dahe)