Arguably the most ambitious title in the long-running franchise, Fallout 76 is taking the traditionally single-player experience online by adding in multiplayer. Naturally, this is also a big change of pace for Bethesda, which is a company that is traditionally thought of as a single player, story-driven developer. With all these new mechanics at work, a beta test was announced alongside the game, largely to ensure that Bethesda's first true online, open world title can meet fan expectations.  After teasing fans with potential beta news earlier in the week, Bethesda has indeed confirmed the start date for when players can jump into Appalachia.

Following an official press release as well as an updated F.A.Q. section on the official Fallout 76 website, Bethesda has confirmed that Xbox One players can jump into the beta on Tuesday, October 23 with PlayStation 4 and PC following a week later on October 30. Beta testers will also need to ensure that they have at least 45GB free on their hard drives and won't be able to pre-load prior to the October start date. As previously reported, the cleverly named Break It Early Application session is only open to players that have pre-ordered the game and as of now, an open beta isn't planned.

Unlike other beta tests, Bethesda is primarily interested in testing the servers and online mechanics, so the beta won't be available 24/7 for a set length of time. Instead, the servers will be on at certain times for anywhere from 4 to 8 hours at a time in an effort to get as many people online together as possible. Even though the full game will be available, the beta is a work in progress version so it's expected that players will likely see bugs, glitches, and other issues while playing. Bethesda's goal during this time is to identify and correct as many of these problems as possible with the help of players in preparation of the game's November 14 launch date.

To go along with the beta announcement, Bethesda has also released the official in-game intro for Fallout 76. Those wanting to avoid spoilers before the game launches may not want to press play, as the trailer features a few story beats detailing the origins of Vault 76, what kind of residents it housed, as well as their mission for rebuilding America. In typical Bethesda fashion, the iconic tagline about war never changing is also worked into the opening moments.

Fallout 76 launches on November 14, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The beta starts on October 23 for Xbox One and then October 30 for PlayStation 4 and PC.