Bethesda recently revealed that the Fallout 76 Beta will begin in late October. The event will be the first chance that gamers get to play Fallout 76. More specifically; it will also be the first chance for gamers to try out many of the game’s multiplayer features which are still shrouded in mystery. Bethesda has yet to clarify how long the beta will go on for. However, they have said that it will only be playable for between 4-8 hours each day. Pete Hines recently clarified to fans how these hours would be allotted.

Why the Fallout 76 Beta is Only Playable For 4-8 Hours Per Day

Unlike some betas, the Fallout 76 Beta is only going to be available for 4-8 hours each day. While this might annoy some fans with busy schedules, it does give a clear indication of what the purpose of the beta is. The beta is occurring very close to the game’s actual launch date, leaving very little time for Bethesda to address in-game bugs. As such, it had seemed more likely that Bethesda was mainly looking to stress-test the game’s multiplayer servers. With the news that it will only be available in limited windows, this now seems very likely to be their intention.

By restricting the availability of the beta in this way, Bethesda will put more strain on their servers; all participants will be playing at the same times. This should allow them to more accurately simulate what the strain will be like when the game actually launches in November. Given that Bethesda has never launched a multiplayer title like Fallout 76 before, it makes perfect sense to prioritise testing the servers. Especially as server problems are extremely common for multiplayer game launches.

Pete Hines’ Clarifications About the Fallout 76 Beta Availability

Pete Hines was recently asked about the availability of the Fallout 76 Beta on Twitter. In response to a question about the availability overlapping with fans’ work or school hours, Hines clarified that Bethesda would be seeking to avoid those times.

Well in order to get the most people in the tests will need to be when the most folks are available to play. So I don’t think they’d all be when folks are at work/school — Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) September 30, 2018

Another fan was concerned about how the availability would affect fans in different time zones. Hines did not give a clear answer to this issue; he merely said that the issue has come up in discussions at Bethesda. However, he didn’t clarify whether Bethesda will arrange the Beta to be available at different hours in different time zones. Hopefully, this is something which the studio sees sense in doing. For example, if the Beta were only available in the late afternoon in the US, that could be midnight or later in the UK.

Yes, we have discussed that with the team — Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) September 30, 2018

The Fallout 76 Beta will be launching on Xbox One on the 23rd of October. It launches on PlayStation 4 and PC one week later, on the 30th. The game’s official launch on all platforms is just two weeks later, on the 14th of November. Bethesda plans to allow players to transfer their Beta progress over to the final game.