Written by 
Despite suffering one of the most disastrous and disappointing videogame launches in memory, these days Fallout 76 is a very fun live service RPG romp. If you’re yet to play it, or ditched it after being underwhelmed many moons ago, it’s now more than worth your time – and your friends’ time, too. As Bethesda prepares for another spike of Fallout fever with its Fallout Day celebrations, it is giving you the perfect opportunity to try it. Fallout 76 is going free-to-play, but for just one week only.
Fallout Day is right around the corner on Wednesday October 23, and for the first time Bethesda is hosting a dedicated livestream full of news and info about its post-apocalyptic universe. The main act will be a look ahead at future content coming to Fallout 76, and that includes the adorable addition of pets to the multiplayer RPG. I’m sure plenty of other new features that are set to arrive in its Gleaming Depths update (which is slated for the end of 2024) will also be put under the spotlight.
Aside from 76, many have their fingers crossed for an announcement about season two of the Fallout TV show too. A handful of hopium-huffing optimists are also saying we might hear something about the Fallout 5 release date – if we do, I’ll eat The Ghoul’s hat.
To coincide with the imminent news dump Fallout 76 is letting all PC and console players in for free. The last time Bethesda pulled this trick, it worked wonders. Coinciding with Fallout season one dropping, Fallout 76’s last free-to-play window saw it hit a new all-time peak player count on Steam. In the months since, its player count has steadily dropped back down to its usual level, but I can envisage this latest promotion having a similar effect as the first.
Fallout 76 will be free for one week starting today, October 22 and ending on Tuesday, October 29. You can download it on Steam right here.
Should your complimentary trip to West Virginia leave an impression, you can also buy and keep Fallout 76 at a huge discount right now. There’s 75% off the game on Steam, bringing it from $39.99/£34.99 all the way down to $9.99/£8.74. Like the free weekend, this offer also expires on October 29.
Alternatively, should it not leave a good impression, here are some other incredible open world games and co-op games you can try instead.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.