As expected, Bethesda has rolled out an update for Fallout 4 on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 to take advantage of the new consoles. But, once again, some PlayStation 5 players are left behind. The fault lies in the complexities at Sony.
Fallout is in vogue thanks to the success of the series on Amazon Prime. The games in the series, including Fallout 4 And Fallout 76 have been stocking up on new players for several weeks. Microsoft has not yet planned a new game for the franchise, but has still accompanied the launch of the series with a wave of promotion on Xbox, PC and PlayStation where the games are available. The firm also launched a patch to adapt Fallout 4 to the performance of the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5.
On Xbox consoles, as since the start of this generation, no problem: the operation is completely transparent for the user. Microsoft has done the work to ensure that transitions between generations on its consoles are now effortless. A selection of Xbox and Xbox 360 games can be played, even on the most recent consoles, and almost all Xbox One games can be played on Xbox Series, often with performance improvements. With Smart Delivery, the console is also capable of correctly downloading and installing the correct version of the game.
For its part, we can say that Sony has been much less successful in managing the transition from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5. Since the launch of its last console, players have regularly encountered friction. We remember the backups of Final Fantasy VII Remake to manually transfer from the PS4 version to the PS5 version by installing both versions of the game simultaneously on the console. When the generation launched, it was also difficult to know whether the console was installing the PS4 or PS5 version of a game, especially since a price difference could arise between the versions. The transition between generations is now complete, but that does not prevent these frictions from reappearing, this is the case for Fallout 4.
A free update, except for certain PS5 players
The “next-gen” update of Fallout 4 was rolled out for free on Xbox and PS5, except for certain players. Indeed, the players who added Fallout 4 to their PlayStation libraries through the PlayStation Plus subscription cannot access this update, the system asking them to pay for the game on PS5. This is a recurring problem at Sony with the versions of games offered on PlayStation Plus and free next-gen patches. The players in question have nevertheless paid for a subscription which should allow them to obtain the game for free.
For yet another dose of additional complexity, it should be remembered that Fallout 4 was offered through two different subscription plans at Sony. First on the PlayStation Plus Collection, a now-defunct catalog of games offered to PlayStation 5 owners when they were subscribed to PlayStation Plus at the start of the generation. Subscribers normally own this collection of games, just like the monthly PlayStation Plus Essential games. But Fallout 4 is also offered in the current catalog of PlayStation Plus Extra, Sony’s equivalent of Xbox Game Pass. Neither version currently offers the free update on PS5.
For their part, Xbox Series players have no problem enjoying the new version of the game, even if it was downloaded using Xbox Game Pass. We would quickly accuse Microsoft, owner of the license through Bethesda, of having put a spoke in the wheels of the PlayStation version, but this is a recurring problem encountered on the Sony platform by gaming games. other publishers like Square Enix. Especially since Bethesda representatives quickly reacted, notably on the official Discord, to try to reassure players.
Bethesda fixes part of the problem
On the night of April 25-26, Bethesda posted an update on social media. The publisher indicates that players subscribed to PlayStation Plus Extra will be able to download the game’s next-gen update very soon. On the other hand, the message does not give any information concerning the players who received the game through the PlayStation Plus Collection.
In another response, Bethesda support confirms that the publisher does not currently have any additional information for PlayStation Plus Essential or PlayStation Plus Collection subscribers. Let’s hope that the publisher will find a solution to offer the update to affected players, despite the pitfalls of the PlayStation Store.