Now we know how much Fallout 76 Seasons will cost

By Eric Abent/May 20, 2020 2:32 pm EST

Last week, Bethesda revealed the 2020 roadmap for Fallout 76. In that reveal, much ado was made about Seasons, which are landing in Fallout 76 with the game's summer update. Fallout 76's seasons feature progression that closely resembles that of battle passes we see in many free-to-play games, leading to some confusion over whether or not these will be paid season passes or free for everyone to participate in.

In a tweet today, Bethesda Studios cleared up that confusion, confirming that Seasons will indeed be free for everyone. "To clarify, our Seasons in Fallout 76 are going to be free for all our players," the company said. "We may add extra Fallout 1st bonus rewards in the future, be want to focus on getting Season 1 in game first and seeing your thoughts. Sorry for confusion on this."

To clarify, our Seasons in Fallout 76 are going to be free for all our players. We may add extra Fallout 1st bonus rewards in the future, but want to focus on getting Season 1 in game first and seeing your thoughts.

Sorry for confusion on this.

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) May 20, 2020

One reason why players might be confused is because they have the option of spending money to progress through Fallout 76's seasons. As Bethesda announced last week, Fallout 76 players can advance to the next seasonal tier – of which there are 100 in all – by spending 150 Atoms, Fallout 76's premium currency. Most battle passes let you purchase tiers as well, but the difference between those and Fallout 76's Seasons is that you typically need to buy access to battle passes at the get-go.

The first Season for Fallout 76 will serve up various rewards at each tier, including cosmetics that are available account-wide and consumables that can only be redeemed (and subsequently used) by individual characters. Players will earn progress toward the next tier primarily by completing challenges, though they'll also progress by completing events and earning XP.

The first season will go live with update 20 for Fallout 76, and from there, we'll see four seasons per year that line up with seasonal shifts in the real world. For more on the 2020 roadmap for Fallout 76, check out our coverage from last week, but otherwise, keep it here for more news on when update 20 will go live.