Fallout 76 reveals its big Season 24 update, and it's coming soon with Bigfoot in tow — here's the release date and everything we know about The Backwoods

Despite its extremely rocky start and the fact it launched nearly eight years ago now, Bethesda's experimental multiplayer RPG Fallout 76 has ended up becoming quite a long-lasting success across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation. A huge reason why is the game's frequent, seasonal content updates — and with December's Burning Springs expansion now in the rearview, its developers have revealed the upcoming Season 24 update, along with its release date.

Fallout 76 Season 24 is officially Rip Daring and the Cryptids from Beyond the Cosmos, themed after the in-universe Astoundingly Awesome Tales comic book action hero and an alien invasion of Earth. It's launching alongside a new major update called The Backwoods; both are scheduled to release on March 3 in just a few weeks.

Bethesda first announced The Backwoods with a short teaser on social media (watch it here or below) that shows a hazy, found footage-style recording of Bigfoot (AKA Sasquatch), the mythical ape-like creature of North American folklore. We then see a small effigy made from human bones, along with text that says "Big things are coming to Fallout 76."

Bigfoot will be Fallout 76's next Cryptid — miniboss-like beasts that draw inspiration from mythology. Previous Cryptids have included the Wendigo, Grafton Monsters, the Mothman, and the Sheepsquatch. The series' Zetan aliens are included in this group, too.

Based on the focus on Bigfoot as well as the key art at the end of the trailer that depicts the Fallout mascot Vault Boy with hunting gear and a double-barrel shotgun, it's clear that the overall theme of The Backwoods update will be hunting in the Appalachian forests, and hunting down Bigfoot in particular.

A new Community Calendar shows that Season 24 will run until its end date of April 7, at which point Fallout 76's next season will kick off. The first week of the season, March 3-10, will feature an event called "Bigfoot's Bash," with an Invaders from Beyond event that's likely centered around Zetan aliens set to follow it up from March 10-24.

At the moment, we know next to nothing about specific items and changes coming in The Backwoods update and Season 24...officially, anyway. Datamines and leaks have shown tweaks to armor stats, updated reward pools for activities, the addition of C.A.M.P. titles, and updates for perks, weapons, and gear mods. Bethesda will surely reveal more of what's coming soon.

Notably, The Backwoods and Season 24 are the first major updates coming to Fallout 76 following the conclusion of Season 2 of the Fallout TV show. As its first season did in 2024, the series has given the Fallout games a major player count boost, with Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 76 benefitting seeing the biggest engagement gains.

If you've never played Fallout 76 before or are considering coming back to the game, now seems a great time to do so. It, along with every other Fallout game, is available to play on Microsoft's buffet-style gaming service Xbox Game Pass.

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Fallout 76 (PC, Steam): was $39.99 now $10.29 at loaded.com

Fallout 76 got off to an extremely rocky start when it launched in 2018, but over the years, Bethesda has transformed it into a very enjoyable live-service multiplayer take on its beloved post-apocalyptic franchise with continued major updates. There are some pretty excellent deals on the game right now; you can also play on Game Pass, if you'd prefer that.

Xbox version: $39.99 at Xbox
PlayStation version: $39.99 at PS Store

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Are you a big fan of Fallout 76? Are you looking forward to The Backwoods update and Season 24? Will you come back to the game to check them out, or start playing it if you haven't before? Let me know in the comments.

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