Fallout 76 microtransaction store revealed

Bethesda today revealed the Atomic Shop microtransaction storefront that will fuel Fallout 76's free updates.

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Like any service game that aims for sustainability, Fallout 76 must monetize its engagement in some way to build recurring earnings and fund future content drops. Thankfully Fallout 76's microtransactions are cosmetic-only and not pay-to-win or pay-for-the-chance-to-win via lootboxes. The game should be littered with customizable cosmetics all of which can be earned by playing the game (although exact rates remain unknown). Now Bethesda has showcased the online Fallout's Atomic Shop storefront that sells in-game items like costumes, weapon/power armor skins, emotes, poses, and decorations for your camps and player-created homes.

There's three ways to earn cosmetics in Fallout 76: find them littered across irradiated West Virgina, unlock them by completing objectives and challenges, or buy them outright. The game combines sweat and premium currency together into a spending currency called Atoms which can be purchased with real money. As the name implies, the Atom Shop is where you'll go to spend your Atoms on in-game goods.

The Atomic Shop will sell seven different types of cosmetic content:

• Apparel
• Skins
• CAMP (decor)
• Styles
• Photo Mode
• Emotes
• Icons

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Read Also: Fallout 76 is a service game, can and will change over time

Bethesda says it will continually offer new challenges so gamers always have new opportunities to earn Atoms and spend them in the store. This aligns with my predictions and is a key engagement hook that should drive consistent play providing all of the content is scaled and entertaining enough, and should fold organically into Fallout 76's wide webwork of online business strategies.

Challenges are cumulative and tiered, meaning some get harder to complete but new more Atoms as you level them up. I'm reminded of Halo Reach's daily challenge system that rewarded Credits on a daily and weekly basis.

All Atoms you earn are shared account-wide so you can make multiple characters and grind out early levels to spend on your main.

Exact pricing for Atoms remains unknown, but expect a staggered cost system similar to the Bethesda.net Creation Club store, or any other major MMO with premium currency. Basically expect to see some cosmetics cost more than any one Atom bundle, pushing gamers to spend real money on two bundles to get a specific unlock.

The studio specifically mentions decor will be sold in the Atomic Shop, and I'm wondering what kinds of pieces will be sold. As someone who spent a lot of time with Fallout 4's base building system I think this will be a main driver for purchases as gamers build their own personalized camps throughout Appalachia.

Fallout 76 launches on November 14, 2018 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Check below for more info on the Atom Shop:

Aside from finding outfits as you explore, or crafting them at workbenches, the Atomic Shop can help you kick off a few costumed capers of your very own. Not only can you peruse a plethora of new outfits, you'll be able to acquire other items like weapon skins, armor skins, emotes, décor and more.

The Atomic Shop was founded to give you as much choice and variety in how you want to customize and celebrate your adventures. It doesn't offer anything with a competitive advantage, and more so, it aims to bring joy not just to you, but the other dwellers around you.

Challenges, and their respective Atom rewards, can only be earned once per account. However, some Challenge requirements and rewards will increase several times as you complete them. Additionally, we'll also keep you stocked up with activities that refresh on both a daily and weekly basis, so you'll never need to worry about running dry.

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