Fallout 76's Hunter/Hunted mode works a lot like battle royale

Bethesda released a Fallout 76 multiplayer guide today, much of which we've already got covered in our own Fallout 76 PvP guide. However, some new details on the intriguing Hunter/Hunted PvP mode were revealed, and would you believe it? It sounds like it has a lot in common with battle royale, including a shrinking circle and a last-man standing system.

During our hands-on session with Fallout 76 earlier this month, we learned Hunter/Hunted can be tuned in on your Pip-Boy radio if you'd like to engage in a match.

"Once at least four players have joined the Hunter/Hunted Radio queue, participants will each be assigned another specific Hunter to track and assassinate," the guide reads. "You are then free to seek and destroy your prey in a large area, with a one-hour time limit. Don’t get too cocky, however, because your own assassin may be hiding around the next bend, and your target may decide fight back. "

"Over time, the Hunt area’s size will decrease, forcing you closer to your current victim and assassin. Upon killing your target, you’ll be assigned to the player they were tracking, and so on, until just one Hunter remains."

Yep, sounds like battle royale to us, with a couple of novel twists. Rewards come in the form of caps and XP, provided you kill at least one other hunter. The more you kill, the more you earn. Call it an irradiated chicken dinner.

The Fallout 76 beta begins tomorrow on Xbox, and yes, we'll be playing it too, at least until the PC version releases on October 30.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.