Fallout 76 has updated consistently since its launch, and Bethesda has experimented with different ways to expand the base game. This has included Expeditions, which take us to places like The Pitt or Atlantic City, as well as new dungeons hidden in abandoned Vaults or underground environments. At today’s Xbox Games Showcase, we learned more about the upcoming Skyline Valley update — and for the first time, fans can actually play as Ghouls.
The Skyline Valley is a new southern region of Appalachia, nestled between the Ash Heap and the Cranberry Bog. This is the first time we’ve seen a major update to the Appalachian map, and looking up at the sky, it seems like something has gone wrong in some terrible way. The Skyline Valley update is currently available for testing on Fallout 76 test realms, and it is set to release on June 12.
The new trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase showed off more of Skyline Valley, but also revealed that in early 2025, fans will have the ability to play as a Ghoul character, which is exciting — especially after the Amazon show got everyone fired up about Walton Goggin’s Ghoul. Ghouls are Wastelanders who absorbed enough radiation to mutate themselves, but not enough to die; they look significantly more haggard than their human counterparts, but are much more resilient and they live longer. They can also go feral, which turns them into maddened beasts — so it’s really a mixed bag.
It’s fascinating to see how Fallout 76 is continuing to adapt and evolve after its notoriously rocky launch. This is the first Fallout game that is brave enough to let players actually be a Ghoul, and I can’t wait to see how that new archetype changes the rest of the game.
