Fallout 76 has been steadily gaining ground with fans since its largely poorly received release, the highly anticipated Steel Dawn expansion being just the latest in a number of major free updates. The update also brought a pleasant surprise for one fan in particular, who just last month petitioned Bethesda on Reddit to add an interactable wheelchair to Fallout 76 C.A.M.Ps.
Kelly Leunen initially outlined her request in a post two months ago to the Fallout 76 Reddit community. Leunen suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which results in her reliance on a wheelchair. "It would make me so happy to have that little piece of me in my creations. And I think a lot of other people would enjoy it too," she wrote. Fallout 76 contains serious roleplaying aspects, C.A.M.Ps being one of the biggest; C.A.M.Ps are player-built bases, and an element of the game that fans have great freedom of creative expression. Luckily, the post gained enough traction to draw the attention of two Bethesda employees, who offered to look into it and subsequently promised its presence in the next update.
Bethesda delivered on that promise this past Tuesday when Steel Dawn launched a week early following an accidental Xbox rollout. Leunen expressed her happiness over the update on Twitter, as well as in a separate Reddit post thanking those who helped her achieve her initial goal. "Thank you, guys. Without the boost of love Reddit gave me when I boosted this, this would've never happened," she writes, accompanied by an image of the now usable in-game chair.
In addition, Leunen is currently raising money on GoFundMe to help pay for a Canta car. Cantas are two-seater "microcars" hailing from the Netherlands (Leunen's place of birth,) specifically designed for disabled drivers to utilize. Her plea to gaming giant Bethesda has garnered her a lot of well-deserved support, and those wishing to contribute can find the fundraiser link attached to the above tweet.
The wheelchair was an already-existing prop in Fallout 76, making it rather easy for Bethesda to shift it into a usable furniture item. The value of such small changes shouldn't be downplayed, however– inclusivity in games is often an afterthought, so small wins like this are right to be cherished and held up as an example for other developers to follow. And while such a small change is inevitably drowned out by larger new additions like underground base building, it clearly means a lot for those it offers "a little piece of me," as Leunen puts it.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.