Although Bethesda has still not confirmed an exact start date for the Fallout 76 public beta, they recently revealed that it would be launching in October. However, a new update from the company has revealed something else about the beta; access to it will be based on random selection, with more players gaining access over time.

Access to the Fallout 76 Public Beta

In a recent update posted on Bethesda’s online forum, a community administrator for the company clarified several things about the Fallout 76 public beta. “Starting in October we’ll be selecting people who have pre-ordered the game from a participating retailer to enter our B.E.T.A.” they stated; “We’ll start small and grow over time as we prepare for launch.”

They later amended this statement; “To clarify, everyone who pre-orders at a participating retailer will be included in the B.E.T.A.”

So, don’t worry; if you’ve pre-ordered the game, then you will definitely get access to the beta. The random element is when exactly each fan will gain access. To gain access to the Fallout 76 public beta in October, all you need to do is pre-order a copy of the game; doing so puts your name into Bethesda’s random-selection pool.

It’s still unclear exactly when the Fallout 76 public beta will start, or how long it will run for. If the plan is to gradually bring in players, it could well span several weeks. The public B.E.T.A. is due to start a week early on Xbox. PlayStation 4 and PC beta access will open one week later. Fans still have plenty of unanswered questions about the public beta, and Fallout 76 multiplayer in general. While the Fallout 76 QuakeCon panel has been billed as a “deeper dive” into the character creation and Perk Card, the Q&A session is likely to be dominated by questions concerning the multiplayer.