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Can you play Fallout 76 offline? Server situation explained

Dealing with Super Mutants is easy, but what about Fallout 76's server?

Fallout 76 poster with a power armour helmet in the foreground and two people walking in the background

Bethesda

Published: Monday, 22 April 2024 at 1:45 pm

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Fallout 76’s online multiplayer nature firmly separates it from other games in the series.

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Running around the barren wastelands with your buddies in tow can be thrilling, as it makes the apocalypse just a little less lonely.

However, it can also be perilous, as you are often at the mercy of not just Super Mutants and Raiders, but your volatile internet connection or the game’s server status.

It was heavily criticised upon its launch in 2018 for a slate of technical issues, but lately Fallout 76 has seen a huge revival in popularity after Amazon’s TV adaptation of the franchise.

According to SteamDB, the game has even achieved a new peak of concurrent players, surpassing 73,000.

But with the franchise’s lengthy history as a single-player game, some newcomers are confused about what happens when their internet drops off or the game’s servers are not working.

Does 76 revert to a Fallout 4-esque offline experience? Read on to find out whether or not Fallout 76 can be played offline and how to check its status.

Can you play Fallout 76 offline?

Sadly, Fallout 76 cannot be played offline, and requires an active internet connection to play.

Having said that, the game does offer a single-player experience, as there are plenty of missions that can be tackled alone.

Playing solo might just require you to spend more time exploring, as you will need better armour and weapons to face enemies on your lonesome - but this still requires Wi-Fi.

Even if you have an internet connection, sometimes the server for an online game might stop working or be taken offline for maintenance.

Usually, any work or issues are resolved swiftly, but if you are looking to scratch your Fallout itch when servers are down, then we would recommend having the likes of Fallout 4 or New Vegas downloaded and ready to boot up as back-up.

But you can easily prepare for the apocalyptic event that is an offline Fallout 76 server by reading how to check its status below.

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How to check Fallout 76 server status

One of the best ways to check the server status of Fallout 76 is by looking on the official website of the game’s developer, Bethesda. Here, it will tell you if any elements of its live services are not working or down for maintenance.

Searching for the game using Down Detector is also a quick method of identifying any problems with the server. This site lets players report their own issues when playing the game, and so it is useful to learn about specific problems others might be having.

Lastly, monitoring Bethesda’s official support page on X is a surefire way to learn about the game’s server status, as shown below:

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Authors

Joshua LambFreelance Writer

Joshua Lamb is a freelance writer at Radio Times Gaming, covering news and guides. He is also a games journalist and critic at The Times where he reviews the latest titles, having also previously reported on events such as Gamescom and the BAFTA Game Awards.

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