Fallout 4’s Vault-Tec Workshop expansion adds quests and hefty design options

Fallout 4’s Vault-Tec Workshop expansion is almost upon us, which means we’ll soon become clandestine lair-building overseers. Come July 26, this Tuesday, we’ll get the chance to “build a brighter future underground”, craft “massive vaults”, and “run Vault-Tec approved experiments” on whoever dares let us. We’ll also get treated to a new quest, Bethesda has now revealed, making it the forthcoming DLC the first Workshop add-on to do so. 

Assuming you’re above level 20, a distress beacon, which can be heard anywhere in the Commonwealth, will sound—alerting you to attend an emergency at Vault 88. Once there, you’ll lay waste to a group of unpleasant raiders and will then happen upon the vault’s charming yet distinctly odd ghoul-transformed overseer. She’s into weird experiments, you learn, and that’s where your quest kicks off. 

“You’ll start off by interviewing some potential new settlers, searching for the perfect subject for all your nefarious tests,” explains a blog post on the Bethesda site. “From there you will be tasked with running a series of experiments, each with different outcomes, depending on the choices you make. Will you be a benevolent leader? Or a cruel tyrant? Or maybe somewhere in the middle?

“Your choice of test parameters will affect the final version of each experimental object, so think carefully. Whatever you end up crafting for your experiment will be permanently added to the Workshop, allowing you to build it whenever you want.”

If that all sounds a bit too gross for your liking, you don’t actually need to complete the quest, says Bethesda—the “pure Workshop experience” can be had by offing the vault keeper or by dismissing her upon arrival. “If you do choose to kill her or force her out, you’ll still be able to build a basic version of each experiment item,” adds the blog post. 

The Vault-Tec Workshop expansion also brings with it a host of nifty tools and items, such as clean furniture, new Vault-themed decorations including a Vault Boy and Vault Girl statue, the experiment-related items you create during the quest part of the add-on, and the newly added Barber and Surgeon chairs—the latter of which means you can now change your look without making the trek to Diamond City.   

Fallout 4's Vault-Tec Workshop DLC is due July 26. 

Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show
Latest in Fallout
Ghoul in sunglasses
Some Fallout 76 players have encountered a 'major game-breaking bug' which either makes it impossible to complete the ghoul quest or just makes you temporarily invisible
A ghoul player character standing next to another ghoul
'You are hereby conscripted': Fallout 76 players demand newly-transformed ghoul players help them mine radioactive ore
Male and Female Vault Dweller holding guns and cresting a hill with ruined city in background
The New Vegas remake of the Fallout 3 that never was just got its first demo, not to be confused with the straight-up remake of the cancelled Fallout 3 or, indeed, Fallout 3
Lucy smiling while using her pip boy
Ella Purnell dreads being typecast for her 'poop finger' in Fallout: 'This finger is the bane of my life'
Fallout 76 - a player in a vault suit gives a thumbs up
Fallout 76's former project lead says it's still his favourite game he worked on, but the initial reception was demoralising: 'I got yelled at in an Apple Store, I'll never forget'
Mortimer Goth swanning around inside a New Vegas casino built inside the Sims 2
A Fallout: New Vegas fan is so fed up waiting for a remake he's decided to do it himself. The twist? He's making it in the Sims 2
Latest in News
A photo of a monitor displaying the output screen of Razer's AI QA Copilot system
It's not for PC gamers but Razer's new AI QA Copilot could ultimately benefit every PC gamer out there, and it's looking like it could be a killer app that AI needs right now
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 barbers change hairstyle - Henry sitting on a horse wearing armour.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 sold 5 times more than the original in its first month
A photo of a gaming laptop's screen, displaying the control panel for Razer's Sensa HD Haptics system
I honestly thought Razer's Sensa haptics stuff was just a gimmick until I tried it with a sim racing setup, and now I'm absolutely sold
Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025 logo
Here's how to watch the Future Games Show 2025 Spring Showcase
MSI RTX 5090 Suprim SOC graphics card on a grey background with a gradient
Nvidia has cut the MSRP of RTX 50-series FE cards in the UK and Europe and that means... not a whole lot right now
Hollow Knight: Silksong — character art of Hornet, Silksong's protagonist, brandishing her weapon
Silksong's weary hollows tossed another scrap of hope from Xbox on high, as a blog post namedrops it next to other 'upcoming games'