NPCs are computer-driven characters that you come across in video games. In fact pretty much every RPG you play will feature NPCs, even those that are online based as NPCs are characters who sometimes help to further the story and also to provide players with quests and rewards.However it seems that with Bethesda’s upcoming Fallout 76, the developer has opted to do away with NPCs entirely. Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Bethesda’s Pete Hines confirmed that the game will not feature NPCs. Instead players will have to interact with other players who will take on all kinds of roles.
According to Hines, “In our game, if that’s how you want to play, you do that with other players, you trade with other people, you travel around the map and buy and sell stuff from folks. Or you can set up a shop. But it’s still a role-playing game. Yes, there’s an element of PvP but it’s not every man for himself and the last one standing wins.”
Hines also claims that previously they helped players “cheat” by marking potentially unfriendly NPCs, but with Fallout 76, players will need to figure that out for themselves. It sounds like it could be an interesting system, but how it will play out in real life remains to be seen. In the meantime Fallout 76 has been set for a release on the 14th of November later this year.
Filed in . Read more about Bethesda, Fallout and Fallout 76.