Fallout 76 is an online multiplayer game about the first people to leave the vault
Fallout 76 is a prequel about rebuilding America, having spent your life in Vault 76 - and every single person in the game world is someone else playing the game.
During the Bethesda E3 showcase we learned a bunch about Fallout 76, which will have 'sixteen times the detail' in its graphics of Fallout 4.
You play as one of Earth's 'best and brightest', kept safe in Vault 76 so that you could help rebuild America by exploring West Virginia.
We already saw the Fallout 76 teaser during Microsoft's presser, but now Bethesda has announced that the game has online multiplayer - it's a sort-of MMO.
You can play the game single-player, if you want, but the idea is that every single person in the world of Fallout 76 is real - the emphasis is clearly on multiplayer. It's what Todd Howard calls 'Softcore Survival' - death won't mean that you lose your character, and you'll only be in a world with 'dozens, not hundreds or thousands' of other players.
Your progression will remain static, as well, which means that Fallout 76 should be pretty accessible. It's "a wide open world with very few rules". It's up to players who the heroes and villains are, apparently. Other players can even acquire nukes and blast the map with them. It all sounds extremely ambitious.
Gameplay footage shown during the presentation involved PVP combat - it's not clear whether there will be VATs combat, but it seems unlikely. All combat shown in the gameplay footage is real-time (and there's quite a lot of it - seems like the mutant monsters are out in force).
You'll also be able to build structures, and then move them "wherever you want". You can do this with C.A.M.P., a portable machine that lets you craft on the go.
It was a long presentation that showed off a lot. Fallout 76 is different from all previous Fallout games, and it looks very exciting. It'll have dedicated servers at launch, and there's a beta coming at some point. There will be a massive Collector's Edition with a big wearable Fallout helmet too, if you've got money to blow on the Power Armour Edition.
Fallout 76 Beta Signup:
To get into the beta, you have pre-order either the standard edition or the crazy collector's edition. It wasn't made clear during the presentation that you'd have to stump up your cash to gain access, but this seems like the only way to enter so far.
Fallout 76 launches November 14, so if you're going to book time off from work, do it soon.
In other Fallout news, Fallout Shelter is coming to PS4 and Nintendo Switch tonight. That's not quite as exciting, but, hey.
You'll want to check out the full presentation to get every minor detail from the show, but that's all the main points covered.
Keep an eye on our E3 conference time guide for all the upcoming conference times and stay on top of all the big E3 2018 announcements.