Fallout 4 beta patch due next week on PC

Fallout 4 developer Bethesda has offered a cursory overview of its plans to fix the post-apocalyptic open-world game's myriad of glitches.

"It's true that the freedom our games offer you can lead to unintentional consequences that are sometimes bad, when the game combines too many unexpected elements at once," the developer stated on its official blog. "We're happy that Fallout 4 is our most robust and solid release ever, and we'd like to thank our amazing QA staff who worked as hard as anyone to break the game so we could fix it during development. But a hundred testers will never replicate the many millions playing the game now, and we're hard at work addressing the top issues."

"Our process for updating the game will include releasing a beta patch on Steam, followed by full release on PC, then release on the consoles," Bethesda explained. "This process has worked well for us in the past and allows us to get more fixes out faster."

"Expect to see more updates, that are smaller and more frequent, than a few big ones. This allows us to make sure each fix is working right, as any change can have unintentional side effects in a game this huge. We expect the first beta patch to be up next week."

Given that Bethesda is going to be fine-tuning its sandbox a little at a time, there are no notes on what specific bugs it hopes to address the first time around. It probably won't make the game much easier though, as the developer insisted its lack of hand-holding is imperative to the Fallout experience.

"We know the game throws a lot on you at once, so take your time," Bethesda suggested. "There are many moments of 'How does this work? What do I do to survive?' and that's how your character should be feeling as well. Those that push through should be able to look back at who they were when they stepped out of the Vault and say, 'I made it. I understand this world now and it's mine.'"

Indeed overcoming the wasteland's obstacles is one of Fallout's greatest appeals, but overcoming its cluttered menus and crafting systems is arguably less exciting.