Fallout 4's big 4K 'next-gen update' is delayed until 2024

Remember the big 4K update for Fallout 4 that was announced in 2022 as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the original Fallout? The good news is that it’s still happening, but the bad news is that it’s not happening until sometime in 2024.

The Fallout 4 “next-gen update” for PC, Xbox Series X-S, and PlayStation 5, promises “performance mode features for high frame rates, quality features for 4K resolution gameplay, bug fixes and even bonus Creation Club content.” It was slated for release sometime in 2023, and I assumed it would be relatively early in the year, given that it’s an update to a game that was, at the time, seven years old. But Bethesda moves at its own pace, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned from The Elder Scrolls 6, that pace is not always rapid.

(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks (Twitter))

“Thank you for your patience with us as we work on the Fallout 4 next-gen update,” Bethesda tweeted on the official Fallout account. “We know you’re excited, and so are we! But we need a bit more time and look forward to an exciting return to the Commonwealth in 2024.”

It’s disappointing, although the general reaction from fans is that it’s better to wait than to rush things, and even though there’s not a more specific release target than “sometime next year,” there’s also some happiness that Bethesda has finally acknowledged that the update is still happening. Several people have also predicted that the update will arrive sometime around the debut of the Fallout TV series, which airs on April 12, 2024, possibly in hopes that it will deliver a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners-style boost to sales.

That may be a little cynical, but since we don’t have anything else to go on at this point, I’d say it’s not a bad bet. At the very least, it’s nice to finally know that this thing is still happening, and hasn’t quietly fizzled out under the scramble to bring renewed life to Starfield. I’ve reached out to Bethesda to see if we can get a more accurate release target for the Fallout 4 next-gen update (although in console terms at least, is it really a “next-gen” update at this point?) and will update if I receive a reply.