How to download the Fallout 4 next-gen update — going live today!

Fallout is currently having its biggest — dare I say explosive — surge in the history of the franchise. Thanks to the success of the Prime Video TV series, every Fallout game has seen a massive uptick of players across all platforms. This has brought tens of thousands of new players to Fallout 76, crashing NexusMods (the primary source of Fallout-related modding), and people humming Ink Spots songs. And today, the long awaited next-gen update for Fallout 4 will be dropping on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Steam, Epic Game Store, and Xbox Game Pass for PC — and it’s free, as long as you own the original game.

If you’re eager to return to the Commonwealth in beautiful high definition — or even if you’re visiting for the first time — here’s what you need to know to get started playing next-gen Fallout 4.

Step 1: Install the game

If you don’t already have Fallout 4 installed, that’s the place to start — and you’ll need to make sure you have a fair amount of space free for it. Fallout 4 is a large game, clocking in around 40 GB with all of the DLC, with an additional 60 GB if you add the high-resolution texture pack (only available for PC). We don’t know exactly how big the update will be, but if it’s as big as the existing texture pack it could double the size of the game.

If you are one of the new players using Epic or the Steam Deck, this will be the end of  your steps as the game is just getting its first release on those platforms — when it’s available, it should include the next-gen update.

Step 2: Update your copy of Fallout 4

You may have your devices set to auto-update games, but consoles, Steam, and Game Pass for PC will all stop auto updating if you haven’t played a game recently, or if it hasn’t had updates in a long time. Seeing it’s been a few years since the last Fallout 4 patch, you may need to manually update the game.

For Steam or Game Pass for PC:

• Select Fallout 4 in Library
• Right click and select properties
• Click update

For Steam, the update may also appear as a Scheduled Download in your Manage Downloads tab. If that is the case, just click Download Now.

For Xbox Series X/S

• Select My Games & Apps from the home screen
• Select Manage
• Select Updates
• Find Fallout 4 in your library

For PlayStation 5

• Scroll to Fallout 4 on your home screen
• Press the Option button on your controller
• Select Check for Updates

But I don’t have Fallout 4!

If you don’t own the game, you’ll have to buy it to play the next-gen version. While the great deals we saw on Fallout 4 earlier this month have ended, you can still get the Game of the Year edition on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox for $40 — and we imagine that it will be around the same on the Epic Game Store. If you don’t care about the DLC, the base game is included on PlayStation Plus Extra as well as Game Pass for Xbox and PC. Game Pass, however, also includes all of the other Fallout games, in case you feel the need to conquer the entire Wasteland.

Now just grab your Nuka-Cola and wait for the patch to go live — you’ll find yourself making friends with Dogmeat in no time.