Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition is here with new "Mostly Negative" DLC on Steam and an update RPG fans say "breaks the game and adds nothing more"

Screenshot from the Fallout 4 next-gen update.
(Image credit: Bethesda)

The Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition has arrived just weeks after Bethesda Game Studios' big Fallout Day stream, much to fans' delight – but it isn't exactly going well, as players note its various crashes, buggy behavior, and the broken mods it's leaving in its wake.

It's just another day for us Bethesda RPG stans, really – a new release comes, we load into it instantly, and the suffering ensues. With the full base game, all six official expansions, and more than 150 Creation Club items, the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition seems like quite a deal, but it's evidently plagued by the very same problems the original title (and most Bethesda ones, let's face it) had at the time of its own launch.

One player's clip shows some very broken textures and a subsequent crash, while another person jokes in their own thread, "Fallout 4 anniversary update bringing maximum nostalgia" – alongside a screenshot of, you guessed it, a game crash. Things aren't looking any brighter on Reddit, where fans report the new edition's accompanying Fallout 4 update "breaks the game and adds nothing more than a UI update so that you can pay for mods."

A separate discussion highlights similar thoughts from players, with one commenter writing, "Breaking the game on its anniversary is peak Bethesda." Others simply say, "My game will no longer launch." It's all incredibly unfortunate – but, as a hardened Bethesda RPG stan myself, it's certainly not surprising. Hopefully, developers are able to sort out the issues and make for a smoother anniversary experience… both with the update and new paid content.

After all, Skyrim itself now boasts a genuinely fun Anniversary Edition a few years on, with newer content and unique player creations that add nicely to the base game experience – in my opinion, anyway.

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Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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