Fallout 76 Burning Springs Update Now Live Introducing The Ghoul New Ohio Region Bounty Hunting and Major Gameplay Improvements
Bethesda Game Studios has officially launched the Fallout 76 Burning Springs update across all platforms marking one of the largest free expansions to the game since Wastelanders in 2020. The update brings the game to version 1.7.22.12 with download sizes of approximately 28.8GB on Steam 39.3GB on Microsoft Store 41.9GB on Xbox and 40.8GB on PlayStation.
Burning Springs expands Fallout 76 into an all new region set west of Point Pleasant crossing into a devastated stretch of rural Ohio never before featured in the Fallout series. This new zone features unique biomes wildlife environmental hazards creature encounters and even adoptable pets such as the new Radhog. It also introduces fishing updates new species and at least one “local legend” catch as part of the region’s environmental storytelling.
One of the headline additions is the arrival of The Ghoul from Amazon Prime Video’s award winning Fallout TV series. Actor Walton Goggins reprises his role voicing the in game character who now acts as the quest giver for Fallout 76’s new Bounty Hunting progression system. This mode adds two contract types:
Grunt Hunts target one star Legendary enemies with difficulty scaling up to two and three star threats as players complete more hunts enabling structured Legendary farming.
• Head Hunts send players after named targets tracked through the Challenges tab offering exclusive cosmetic and item rewards.
The Ghoul becomes overwhelmed by the number of contracts flooding in and calls on players to help him manage the workload tying Fallout 76’s new gameplay loop directly to the tone and themes of the TV show. Burning Springs launches just ahead of Prime Video’s second season premiering December 17 which continues The Ghoul and Lucy’s story as they pursue Lucy’s father into New Vegas.
The region’s core narrative begins when level 30 and above characters tune into the Ohio Distress Signal unlocking a multi update storyline centered on Highway Town its Last Resort saloon hub and the ruthless Rust King. Two new public events Gearin’ Up and Sinkhole Solutions expand the region’s activities by integrating new factions enemies and environmental threats unique to Burning Springs.
Bethesda has applied broad tuning across weapon balance legendary mods enemy behaviors and C.A.M.P. building. C.A.M.P. budgets have been relaxed with decorative and functional items rebalanced to lower their cost.
Burning Springs also coincides with the closure of Milepost Zero caravans in Skyline Valley. Rewards previously associated with that system have been redistributed across Appalachia. Bethesda says Bounty Hunting now delivers more efficient on demand content with better engagement and reward pacing. The team also teased “exciting plans” for Skyline Valley coming in future updates.
The update launches alongside Season 23 Blood x Rust featuring a new raider themed scoreboard with scrapyard aesthetics Deathclaw motifs and an array of Raider inspired C.A.M.P. items such as raiderized workbenches metal braziers junk fences and industrial prefabs. Additional cosmetics tie directly into Burning Springs including bounty hunter themed icons Rust branded titles and Ohio Dino Golf props.
Fallout 76 Burning Springs marks another step in Bethesda’s continued evolution of the live service Fallout experience blending TV series synergy expansive new exploration zones deeper progression systems and refined gameplay loops just ahead of one of the franchise’s biggest cultural moments.
Have you explored Burning Springs yet? What do you think of The Ghoul becoming a core character in Fallout 76? Share your experience with us.
