Fallout 76 Roadmap until 2027: Worldpets, Hideouts, Drifter & Raven Rock

30.09.202601.10.2026

Fallout 76 NewsInsider

skywalka

30.09.2026 01.10.2026

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Fallout 76 NewsInsider

Major changes are coming to Fallout 76 over the next few months! "The Slasher" season, featuring new quests and rewards, is currently running through December. In December 2026, the World Pets update will bring new companions to the Appalachia wasteland. Things continue in spring 2027 with a new challenge involving Hideouts and The Drifter. Then, in the summer, an extensive new Enclave storyline awaits us with the Raven Rock update.

Along with several other content creators, I was invited by Bethesda to an exclusive online event, where Jon Rush gave us a presentation covering new content coming with the next updates. I can now share these details with you and take a closer look at what's coming next.

Index

• World Pets
• Hideouts
• Raven Rock
• More Changes in 2027
• PTS Launch

World Pets Update

Release: December 2026

The Fallout 76 World Pets update takes the importance of your C.A.M.P. pets to a new level. Your pets can now not only stay with you at your C.A.M.P. but also accompany you into the Wasteland. They can fight, possess their own perks, are customizable, and grow alongside you. The more you use your pet, the more capable it becomes, with additional rewards unlocked as it levels up.

You can take your existing pets into the Wasteland. Options include the dogs, cats, Radhogs, and even Deathclaws that were available in past seasons and the Atomic Shop.

When World Pets launches in December, every player will also receive a free German Shepherd to accompany them into the Wasteland.

• You select your pets via a new section in your Pip-Boy, where you can also switch them out at any time.
• Pets can be directed using the Pet Command Wheel, which is now divided into commands (Stay, Follow, Attack, and Defend) as well as emotes.
• Pets can also be directed to perform actions via a ping.
• Pet leveling and XP are tied to the species rather than the individual animal.
• Each species offers unique buffs:
  • Dogs find Stimpaks and additional legendary items during bounty hunts.
  • Cats find improved bait for fishing.
  • Radhogs find toxic goo and high radioactive fluids.
  • Deathclaws find Black Titanium and additional legendary items during infestations.
• Pets cannot accompany you into raids or Shelters.

Bounty Hunts in Skyline Valley

The bounty hunts known from Burning Springs are expanding to Skyline Valley with new contracts, new rewards, and a new quest-giver named Marshall Canton, a Robobrain. Marshall Canton has adopted the personality of a notable Old West lawman and manages all the region's new bounties.

This further expands the bounty system introduced with Burning Springs. The smaller bounties and contracts also provide the foundation for the considerably more dangerous Hideouts coming in Spring 2027.

Skyline Valley Repaved

Alongside the new bounty hunts, Skyline Valley is receiving a major overhaul. Bethesda has revisited the region with notable improvements to its forests, rocky cliffs, terrain, and even its weather.

The update improves exploration, deepens immersion, and gives players new reasons to venture back into one of Appalachia's most distinctive regions, this time alongside their new pets.

World Pets in Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is also joining the World Pets campaign. With more than 250 million downloads to date, Fallout Shelter will receive a very special new pet later this year: a Deathclaw. The Deathclaw was shown as the new companion during the presentation. Don't be fooled by its cute appearance, though – after all, a Deathclaw is still a Deathclaw.

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Hideouts

Release: Spring 2027

Fallout 76: Hideouts introduces a new feature that builds upon the existing bounty system, offering dynamic combat against challenging gangs. Players will venture into entirely new indoor locations in Burning Springs and Skyline Valley, where these deadly gangs have entrenched themselves. A team of up to four players can locate a Hideout, take on the gang, defeat the boss... and face off against the Drifter!

Hideouts are designed to fill the gap between the early endgame and raids. Players will be able to acquire gear within Hideouts that helps prepare them for Appalachia's toughest challenges.

They feature exclusive rewards and various difficulty levels that players can select when launching them.

To earn a Hideout Lead, players must explore the map, complete events or bounty hunts, and participate in other activities. Hideout Leads can also be combined at a workbench to access higher difficulty levels.

Dynamic Battlefields

Hideouts feature shifting dynamics designed to challenge or benefit players based on their specific builds. Different routes and strategies can be used to reach and eliminate the gang's leader.

Prepare for level-wide hazards, strange mutations affecting gang leaders, timed challenges, and more. Players never know if they will encounter Mothman Cultists, murderous robots, or other classic Fallout factions.

While most difficulty levels are intended to bridge the gap between the early endgame and raids, experienced teams can take on the new Marked difficulty, designed to challenge even the best-equipped groups while offering the best rewards.

The Drifter

At higher difficulty levels, players may encounter the Drifter, a ruthless bounty hunter who stops at nothing to eliminate the competition and claim all the rewards for himself.

The Drifter represents a raid-level encounter that can appear in any Hideout. Using a Marked Hideout Lead guarantees his arrival. Experienced bounty hunters who manage to defeat the Drifter can expect particularly valuable rewards.

Who is actually hiding behind the mask remains unknown. Bethesda itself raises the possibility that the Drifter could be a rogue agent, or perhaps even an Enclave operative.

Hunt, or be hunted.

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Raven Rock

Release: Summer 2027

Raven Rock is shaping up to be one of Fallout 76's biggest updates yet when it arrives in Summer 2027. It will also mark the game's 76th content update.

The Fallout 76 map will expand once again – this time southeast toward the Capital Wasteland, giving players their first taste of the region that will later become the setting of Fallout 3.

Fallout 76 takes place almost 200 years before the events of Fallout 3, however. At the time of Raven Rock, only around 27 years have passed since the bombs fell. Bethesda describes a landscape of scabbed cliffs, black snow, and the lingering ashes of the nuclear destruction that devastated the region.

At the center of the new storyline is the Enclave. A new Cold War is heating up in the southeast between two derelict Enclave operators. The Enclave, Bethesda says, will not rest until stability has been restored.

The story therefore takes place long before the Lone Wanderer's journey in Fallout 3 and is intended to set the stage for events that will unfold in the Capital Wasteland almost two centuries later.

What role Raven Rock itself will play and exactly who or what the two Enclave operators are remains unknown for now.

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More Changes Coming in 2027

Alongside the major content updates, Bethesda is also working on improvements to several existing Fallout 76 systems. These include:

• Infestations
• Seasonal events
• Rendering and visuals
• Weather
• The new player experience
• Fishing

Appalachia's rivers and streams will also continue receiving new seasonal fish. Bethesda even teased rumors of a rare glittering gold Axolotl appearing somewhere in the Wasteland.

Actually, the golden Axolotl can already be found in the current files of the PTS. It will be available in different Regions each month.

There also appears to be another new cryptid on the horizon. Jon Rush mentions a Wastelander who claims to have spotted a Jackalope rummaging through a dumpster. Rush has repeatedly used seemingly casual remarks like this to hint at content that later actually makes its way into the game.

The Jackalope isn't entirely unknown in Fallout 76 either: Jackalope trophies already exist as C.A.M.P. wall decor in the game. The fact that Rush is now specifically talking about someone spotting a living Jackalope is therefore particularly interesting. We consider it very likely that the Jackalope will eventually appear as a new cryptid in Appalachia, although Bethesda hasn't officially confirmed this yet.

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PTS Launch

October 2026

The next PTS, featuring Hideouts, launches in October for all platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation). There, you can find out what happened to Skyline Valley and just how difficult the Hideouts really are. The actual launch date will be announced soon.

More information coming soon.

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