Quick Answer
Fallout 4 has received 6 DLCs, a Survival Mode overhaul, 150+ Creation Club items (now bundled in the Anniversary Edition), a next-gen update with 4K/60FPS and free quests, and a Switch 2 port launching February 24, 2026. If you haven’t played since 2015, you’re looking at 40-60 hours of new content on top of the base game.
In This Guide
Fallout 4 launched in November 2015. It’s now 2026, the TV show just wrapped its second season to a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, Steam concurrent players have doubled, and Xbox is seeing nearly 100,000 daily players. A lot has changed since you last left the Commonwealth. This guide covers everything added to Fallout 4 since launch: every DLC, the Survival Mode overhaul, 150+ Creation Club items, the next-gen update, and the Switch 2 port dropping this week. If you’re coming back after years away, this is the only page you need.
Why Come Back Now
Three things happened in quick succession. The Fallout TV show Season 2 premiered December 16, 2025, and it’s genuinely good. Weekly episodes kept interest high through the February 3 finale. Amazon reported 794 million viewing minutes in the opening week alone. That drove player counts up across every Fallout game on Steam: Fallout 4 jumped from 17,500 to 44,200 concurrent, New Vegas nearly tripled, and Fallout 76 peaked at 235,000 players across all platforms.
Then on November 10, 2025, Bethesda released the Anniversary Edition, bundling 150+ Creation Club items with the base game and all DLC for the game’s 10th anniversary. And on February 24, 2026, the complete Anniversary Edition arrives on Switch 2. It’s the first time a mainline Fallout game has been on a Nintendo platform. If you’re reading this, you’re probably part of that wave of returning players. Good timing. There’s never been more content waiting for you.
Everything Added to Fallout 4: The DLC
Bethesda released 6 DLC packs between March and August 2016. Three add story content and new areas. Three focus on settlement building. All are now included in every current edition of the game, so you don’t need to buy them separately.
| DLC | Type | Level | What It Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatron | Story + Feature | 15+ | Robot companion building system, 4-quest Mechanist storyline, new enemy types |
| Wasteland Workshop | Settlement | Any | Cage traps, creature taming, arena building, new decorations |
| Far Harbor | Story Expansion | After “Getting a Clue” | Largest new landmass, 3 factions, multiple endings, 15-25 hours |
| Contraptions Workshop | Settlement | Any | Conveyor belts, manufacturing, elevators, ammo crafting |
| Vault-Tec Workshop | Story + Settlement | 20+ | Build your own vault (Vault 88), overseer experiments |
| Nuka-World | Story Expansion | 30+ | Raider-run amusement park, 3 gangs, 15-20 hours, morality-bending |
Far Harbor is the one you shouldn’t skip. It’s set on a foggy Maine island where a missing-person case spirals into a three-way faction conflict between a fishing town, a synth colony, and the Children of Atom. The writing is sharper than the base game, with genuine moral dilemmas and multiple endings. Old Longfellow joins as a fully voiced companion who can follow you back to the Commonwealth. The Vault 118 murder mystery side quest alone is worth the trip. Community consensus across Reddit and YouTube is unanimous: if you play one DLC, make it Far Harbor.
Nuka-World flips the script. You fight through a deadly obstacle course called The Gauntlet, defeat the current Overboss, and take control of three raider gangs: the wealth-driven Operators, the animal-training Pack, and the bloodthirsty Disciples. You assign amusement park zones to each faction, then invade the Commonwealth with raider settlements. It’s the only DLC that lets you be the villain. Play it last since the raider mechanics conflict with the Minutemen questline. Some players recommend doing Nuka-World before meeting Preston Garvey to dodge that conflict entirely.
Automatron is short (3-5 hours of story) but adds the robot workbench, which lets you build custom robot companions from scavenged parts. Hundreds of mod combinations for limbs, armor, and weapons. The three workshop DLCs are builder-focused and skippable if settlements aren’t your thing, but Vault-Tec Workshop gives you a massive underground vault to design, and Contraptions adds ammo crafting which is useful in Survival Mode.
Recommended play order: Automatron (level 15) first for the robot workbench, workshop DLCs whenever you feel like building, Far Harbor mid-to-late game after bonding with Nick Valentine, and Nuka-World dead last at level 30+ after the main story.
Survival Mode
Survival Mode launched as a free update in March 2016 and completely transformed the game. It’s not just a difficulty slider. It’s a full survival simulation bolted onto the existing RPG.
What changes: Fast travel is disabled (except Institute teleportation). Manual saves, quicksaves, and autosaves are all gone. You can only save by sleeping in a bed. Ammunition has weight. You need to eat, drink, and sleep or suffer escalating stat penalties. You deal 150% damage but take 200%, so everything is lethal. Enemies grant double XP, and the Adrenaline perk stacks up to +50% damage the more kills you chain without sleeping.
There’s also a disease system. Eating uncooked food, getting bitten by creatures, swimming in dirty water, and even using RadAway (it suppresses your immune system) can all trigger infections. Antibiotics cure diseases, or you can visit a doctor for a full reset. The tension is real. Dying means losing everything since your last nap, and beds aren’t always nearby. Stealth builds dominate because avoiding fights is often smarter than winning them.
I’d recommend trying Survival on a second playthrough rather than your first. The base game is already 60+ hours, and losing an hour of progress to a Molotov from a raider you didn’t see will test your patience if you’re still learning the map. But if you want the definitive Fallout 4 experience, Survival is it.
Creation Club and the Anniversary Edition
The Creation Club launched in 2017 as a paid storefront for curated add-ons made by Bethesda and community creators. The reception was mixed at best. Most items had free equivalents on Nexus Mods, and prices felt steep for weapon skins and Pip-Boy paint jobs.
That changed with the Anniversary Edition on November 10, 2025. All 150+ Creation Club items are now bundled in, and individual purchases are gone. The pricing depends on what you already own:
| Edition | Price | Who It’s For |
|---|---|---|
| Anniversary Edition | $59.99 | New players (includes everything) |
| Anniversary Upgrade | $39.99 | Base game owners (adds DLC + CC items) |
| Creations Bundle | $19.99 | GOTY owners who already have the DLC |
| Switch 2 Edition | $59.99 | Full Anniversary Edition on Switch 2 |
If you own the GOTY Edition, you want the $19.99 Creations Bundle, not the $39.99 upgrade. The upgrade includes DLC you already have. This confused a lot of people at launch.
The 150+ items break down into 7 quests, 2 companions, 14 weapons, 12 armor sets, dozens of paint jobs, 11 dog breeds for Dogmeat, 4 player homes, and 11 settlement packs. The standouts worth installing first: the Modular Military Backpack (extra carry capacity with 30 customization pieces), Chinese Stealth Armor (full stealth suit), Anti-Material Rifle (powerful sniper), Noir Penthouse (best player home), and the Tunnel Snakes Rule! quest if you played Fallout 3. Access everything through the Add-Ons menu on the main screen.
The Next-Gen Update
The April 2024 next-gen update was a free patch for all existing owners, timed to the Fallout TV show premiere. It added native PS5 and Xbox Series X|S support with two display modes: Performance (60 FPS, dynamic 4K) and Quality (30 FPS, native 4K, or 40 FPS on 120Hz displays). PC players got widescreen and ultrawide monitor support. The game became Steam Deck Verified and hit the Epic Games Store for the first time.
It also shipped three free content packs. The Enclave Remnants pack adds the quest “Echoes of the Past” (starts north of Saugus Ironworks), X-02 and Hellfire Power Armor, plus the Heavy Incinerator and Tesla Cannon. Makeshift Weapons adds grenade launchers, a nail gun, and the quest “When Pigs Fly.” The Halloween Workshop adds 38 seasonal props and the quest “All Hallow’s Eve.” These are the first time the Enclave appeared directly in Fallout 4, so don’t sleep on the Remnants pack if you’re a franchise fan. Keep an eye on our legendary weapon effects guide for builds that pair well with the new hardware.
Fair warning: the next-gen update broke the Script Extender (F4SE) and every mod that depends on it. The Anniversary Edition update in November 2025 broke them again. If you mod on PC, check Nexus for compatibility before updating. Many players rolled back to pre-update versions to keep their mod setups working.
The Switch 2 Port
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition arrives on Switch 2 on February 24, 2026 (digital) with a physical code-in-a-box edition following April 28. It’s $59.99 and includes the full package: base game, all 6 DLCs, and 150+ Creation Club items. It’s the first mainline Fallout game to appear on a Nintendo console.
Performance details are still thin. Community reactions to trailer footage noted some visual concerns like pixelated shadows, but Bethesda is reportedly working on performance and visual toggle options. If you’re picking up the Switch 2 for portable Fallout, grab the accessories to go with it. For the full Switch 2 accessory breakdown, check our best Switch 2 accessories guide.
Play Fallout 4 on the Go
Whether you’re grabbing the Switch 2 port or playing on Steam Deck (now Verified), portable Fallout is better than it has any right to be. Here’s the gear to pair with it.
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition (Switch 2)
Base game + 6 DLCs + 150 Creation Club items. The complete Fallout 4 package, portable.
Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller
Built-in audio jack and remappable GL/GR buttons. FPS games need a real controller.
Switch 2 Carrying Case + Screen Protector
Official Nintendo case with room for console, Joy-Cons, cables, and 6 game cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best Fallout 4 DLC?
Far Harbor, and it’s not close. It has the best writing, a full new landmass, multiple endings, and 15-25 hours of content. Nuka-World is the runner-up for its unique raider mechanics and theme park setting.
What order should I play the Fallout 4 DLC?
Automatron at level 15, workshop DLCs whenever you want, Far Harbor mid-to-late game after working with Nick Valentine, and Nuka-World last at level 30+ after the main story.
Is the Switch 2 version worth $60?
If you’ve never played Fallout 4, yes. You’re getting the base game (60+ hours), 6 DLCs (30-40 hours more), and 150+ Creation Club items. If you already own it on another platform, only buy it if portability matters to you.
Should I get the Anniversary Edition or the GOTY Edition?
If you’re buying new, get the Anniversary Edition ($59.99) for everything. If you already have the GOTY Edition, get the Creations Bundle ($19.99) for just the Creation Club items. Don’t buy the $39.99 Anniversary Upgrade if you already own the DLC.
Is Survival Mode too hard for beginners?
Play Normal or Hard on your first run to learn the map and systems. Survival Mode is best on a second playthrough when you already know where to find beds, food, and clean water. Stealth builds make it much more manageable.
Summary
Fallout 4 in 2026 is a different game than the one you left. Far Harbor alone justifies coming back, Survival Mode turns the Commonwealth into a genuine challenge, and the Anniversary Edition bundles everything you missed into one package. The Switch 2 port means you can take the entire 100+ hour experience portable. Whether you’re returning for the TV show, the Anniversary Edition, or just because you miss wandering the Wasteland, there’s never been a better version of this game. Check our companion guide to pick the right crew for your return trip.