Coming first in March is the robotic-themed Automatron. “The mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain,” reads the announcement. Players will be able to hunt down robots, strip them for parts, and then customize their own robot companions. Mix and match hundreds of parts, mods, and weapons, “like the all-new lightning chain gun.” Cosmetic options like paint schemes and voice selection ensure that your roving murderbot will be truly your own. Automatron will be available à la carte for $10.
Following in April is the smaller Wasteland Workshop expansion, which will allow you to “design and set cages to capture live creatures — from raiders to Deathclaws!” Once captured, you can tame them or set them to fight each other in battle. Imagine if Ash threw out a Poké Ball and instead of an adorable, furry creature, out came a sweaty, leather-clad wasteland raider, jacked up on amphetamines and waving a tire iron over his head. I’m also curious what the process of “taming” a raider entails.
Additionally, Wasteland Workshop will add new settlement design options, “like nixi tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more!” It will be available for $5.
Lastly, the most substantial expansion adds a whole new area off the coast of Maine in Far Harbor, coming in May. “A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths.” This new location (likely based on Mount Desert Island, which includes the town of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park) is apparently the largest land mass for an add-on that Bethesda has ever created, and will feature new settlements, faction quests, friends, foes, and higher-level gear. Far Harbor costs the most on its own at $25.
Bethesda’s announcement also insists that this is just the beginning, and that more than $60 of new content will roll out in 2016. Accordingly, the Season Pass, which is currently available for $30, will be going up to $50 on March 1, 2016. Anyone who already purchased it at the lower price, however, or who does so before March, will still get access to everything at the lower cost, so buy now if you were planning on it.
Select fans on all platforms will get early access to all of the DLC content through closed betas, for which you can sign up right now by creating a Bethesda.net account. The beta will include the full version of the new content, including achievements, and participants will not have to purchase it once released in full.
Lastly Bethesda reiterates that they are working hard on additional free fixes and updates to the game, including the overhauled Survival Mode that was recently teased, as well as the long-promised Creation Kit to support modders.
