Speaking in a recent interview with GameSpot, Pete Hines discussed the topic of the Fallout 76 servers. This will be the first came developed by Bethesda Game Studios to have online servers, raising the question of how long they will continue to be online. Hines’ response to that very question could be, simply put, “forever.”

Pete Hines on the Fallout 76 Servers

“How long is [Fallout 76] going to be up?” Hines says; “I don’t know how to give an answer other than that… It’s not like anybody makes a game and goes, ‘Well this is going to make it for 10 years if we’re lucky.’ Nobody thinks that way. How long has WoW been up now? Is that game planning to sunset in a year? I seriously doubt it.”

Given that Bethesda have never developed a multiplayer title like this, it’s hard to predict how well it will perform. The Elder Scrolls: Online, developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, didn’t exactly perform well when it launched. However, it has enjoyed a significant resurgence in recent years and certainly shows no sign of closing down anytime soon; “We’re going to keep going as long as people keep playing it and it shows no signs of slowing down,” continues Hines; “Once we get to private servers or whatever happens in the years following; I don’t know. Maybe there’s a point where it doesn’t matter. But… this is a massive franchise and a massive undertaking, and our commitment to it is never-ending, and that it continues on an ongoing basis.”

Continuing on the same point, Hines even went so far as to add; “I see a plan for this game for years and years. So talking about when it’s not up is kind of irrelevant. I have nothing to look at that says it’s not going to be up forever.”

Given that Bethesda’s two next upcoming games, Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, have both been confirmed as single-player titles, it seems likely that Bethesda is hoping to keep Fallout 76 going for a long time. It doesn’t seem as though the studio is planning to make another multiplayer title like it anytime soon.