Fallout 76 update hints at better ways to make a buck with "player vending"

If a lack of retail opportunities is what's getting between you and really investing in Fallout 76, the first 2019 news update from Bethesda may bring a little hope to your heart. Included in a list of future features it's working on are "new quests, weekly in-game events, new Vaults opening, a new PvP mode, Player Vending and much more."

Of course, players have already found ways to use the trading system to swap and sell items out in the wilds, but this hints at more satisfying ways to start your own retail empire than just hawking diluted stimpacks to the desperate. Tweaks to stash sizes or Cap limits would be a start, and it would definitely be nice to see a few more friendly faces in between all the super mutants and angry murderers. I'm hoping for a way for players to build retail locations, separate from bases, that they can stock with various product types. Finally Fallout 76 could make my dream of opening a opossum-based cuisine food truck a reality. 

Bethesda's SVP of global marketing and communications Pete Hines addressed the issue of players as traders in an interview before the game's release, making it clear that consumerism will always be optional in the wasteland. 

"Nothing says you have to trade or else because that's taking choice out of your hands. I've now dictated a system that you can't live without, but what if that's not how you want to play? What if you want to be a loner who just lives off the land and builds the stuff that he needs? Uses the workshops he finds in the wasteland? That should all be viable."

There's no heads up when any of these "future features" will make an appearance, and it sounds like the big update coming later this month will focus on "many of the issues" Bethesda has been hearing about from the community. I mean, the studio is probably pretty busy after accidentally breaking the whole nuke codes part of the game. 

Welcome to 2019. Check out our official awards for the best games of 2018 you need to catch up on.  

Fallout 76 power armor | Fallout 76 patch notes  | Fallout 76 vending machines | Fallout 76 mutations | Fallout 76 mothman | Fallout 76 tips | Fallout 76 CAMP tips | Can you play Fallout 76 single player | Fallout 76 perk cards | How to build the best Fallout 76 CAMP | Fallout 76 map | How to get Two Shot Explosive guns in Fallout 76

Rachel Weber
Contributor

Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.

Latest in Fallout
Fallout overseer
Original Fallout creator says he "pushed" for a happy ending with "cake and balloons" instead of the RPG's downbeat finale
Fallout
Disco Elysium lead says original Fallout is an RPG "that's almost Biblical in its annihilation," making "other post-apocalyptic worldbuilding seem like an amusement park"
Fallout 4 mod Fallout London screenshot showing a ruinous post-apocalyptic Camden
As if Fallout: London wasn't already big enough, its devs now say the mod's "first DLC is getting closer" with "more surprises" to come
mister burke sat in a beige suit, black tie, white shirt, and black hat and shades
Bethesda fans raise $140k for prolific VA's medical bills as Bethesda describes him as "an incredibly talented and instrument part of our games"
Fallout: New Vegas mod Fallout: Nuevo Mexico
After 4 years, Fallout: New Vegas' massive New Mexico mod is canceled: "Continuing forward simply isn't sustainable"
MTG
30 years later, Fallout creator Tim Cain is searching for a legendary D&D player who cheesed an entire competitive dungeon with a lightning-fast Monk build
Latest in News
Daredevil: Born Again
A major character is returning in Daredevil: Born Again season 2 – despite being killed off in the first 10 minutes of season 1
Marvel's Avengers
After Square Enix's attempt flopped, Avengers: Endgame and Doomsday directors are "open" to working on their own Marvel team-up game
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' first time-limited event quests are here, giving fans just 2 weeks to snag special armor and rare materials in the action RPG
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Longlegs director pitches horrifying Star Wars movie with Darth Vader, and we want it to happen
Fragpunk
Marvel Rivals publisher indefinitely delays its other hero shooter on Xbox and PS5 2 days before its free-to-play launch
Mario & Luigi: Brothership trailer still
The end is nigh for the 3DS as Nintendo runs out of parts for 2 more models in Japan, with only 1 iteration still accepted for repairs