A new Inside the Vault Update from Bethesda has the latest on Fallout 76, the post-apocalyptic RPG prequel. First off, a free play week is now underway, so you can sample the full game all you want between now and June 16th. The game is on sale for 67% off (lost opportunity for a 76% discount) if you decide you want to keep it, and all free trial progress will be retained if you do. There's also a weather forecast announcing a thaw for the Nuclear Winter, saying this battle royale mode will ride off into the sunset in September. So if there's a battle royale between all the current crop of battle royale modes and games, this will not be the last one standing. Word is Bethesda is thrilled at how many players tried this out, but they are not thrilled with how many players have moved on:

When we first introduced Nuclear Winter, we were thrilled to watch so many players from our community, as well as many newcomers, dive head first into our take on the ruthless last-player-standing Battle Royale genre. Over time, however, we’ve seen the vast majority of players prefer to explore other aspects of the game. It has also become tougher to put full Nuclear Winter lobbies together without also making sacrifices on match wait times. Additionally, we’ve found it challenging to provide meaningful updates for Nuclear Winter, while also developing and supporting exciting new content for Adventure Mode in recent and upcoming updates. With all of this in mind, we are currently planning to sunset Nuclear Winter Mode in an update coming this September.

We know that some of you are incredibly passionate about Nuclear Winter, and that you may find this news disappointing. Ending support for the mode was a difficult decision, and not one that we made lightly. We’re still working to provide methods of PVP combat for those who enjoy squaring off against other former Vault Dwellers, and a little later this year, we will release details on how we plan to offer players even more ways to play Fallout 76. Additionally, we’re going to compensate everyone who participated in Nuclear Winter, from those who only joined a single match to our most battle-hardened Overseers.