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I recently had a chance to chat with Fallout 76’s Bill LaCoste (Production Director) and Jon Rush (Creative Director) about the upcoming Burning Springs update. Coming in December 2025, right around the time of the Amazon series’ Season 2, it will also, coincidentally, feature Walton Goggins as The Ghoul. It’s also a major map update, as we head into nuclear bomb-ravaged Ohio.
It was a real pleasure to get hands-on with the Fallout 76 update, and to chat with Bill LaCoste again, as well as meet him in person for the first time, as well as Jon Rush! FO76 is such a fascinating game, and it’s wild to me to see how far it’s come since its initial launch. If you’re itching for something new and challenging in the game to do, this update will give you exactly what you want.
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Bill LaCoste and Jon Rush on Fallout 76’s Burning Springs update, Bounty Hunting, and The Ghoul
Q. I'm very excited for the Burning Springs update, because I love Fallout in general, but I also really love the Amazon series. And as excited as I am to see The Ghoul, are we going to find out why he's here instead of New Vegas?
Jon Rush: We don't. So remember, Fallout 76, the timeline takes place the furthest back in history. The show takes place the furthest forward in history. So him being here right now, we're not going to go into too much detail as to exactly why, but what's important is he is here, he's in Highwaytown, and it's The Ghoul being The Ghoul and serving as the host for this exciting new Bounty Hunting feature.
Q. Speaking of which, why don't you tell us more about the Bounty Hunting system that's coming to the Burning Springs update of Fallout 76??
Jon Rush: Sure. So as you can imagine, Burning Springs is full of all sorts of nefarious people. And so The Ghoul is there, and he's there to make some caps. So he's issuing out lots of bounties, kind of serving as the middleman, I suppose.
So The Ghoul has a big stack of Grunt Hunts sitting on his table, and those are free for all players to just take and go complete at their whim. They can do as many Grunt Hunts as they want. Some lucky bounty hunters, after finishing a Grunt Hunt, may find a more exclusive contract for a Headhunt.
A Headhunt is a much harder Bounty Hunting mission that you definitely can't do by yourself. You're going to need people to come help. And so the good news is that a Headhunt is actually a Public Event.
So the server gets notified when a Headhunt pops up. There can be one Headhunt active at a time. And so players will have to fight much harder mobs and bosses, and they have a chance for bigger rewards.
For those kind of deep in the pockets with some caps to burn, you can also pay The Ghoul off to just buy a Headhunt outright, if you'd like. He's never one to have qualms about separating a Vault Dweller from their caps.
Jason Parker: That's what I did! [Laughs] I didn’t want to wait for RNG to bless me, so I just threw caps at the problem.
Jon Rush: Or what's great is, you know, if somebody else on the server starts one, you can just hop in.
Q. Now, will these Bounty Hunting missions only be available in the Burning Springs region of Fallout 76? Or could The Ghoul later wind up somewhere else in Appalachia?
Jon Rush: I'm not one, neither is Bill, to speak on behalf of The Ghoul. The Ghoul's going to do what The Ghoul's going to do. I wouldn't be surprised if down the road he may want to stake his claim elsewhere and try to round up some more bounties, but we'll have to wait and see.
Jason Parker: There's plenty of ne'er-do-wells in the Wasteland. On the topic of Ghouls, will there be different dialogue if you play as a Ghoul when speaking with him?
Bill LaCoste: Yes.
Jason Parker: Okay, cool! That’s what I’m looking forward to.
Jon Rush: You’re a big fan of playing a Ghoul!
Jason Parker: Oh, absolutely! [Laughs]
Q. We've expanded out west, we've expanded a little south, we've headed up north towards Ohio, and it's almost like we're just inching around the Capital Wasteland. That’s just the way it looks to me! Have there been any talks of breaching into the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 76?
Jon Rush: Well, we view these big updates as kind of the next chapter in our Appalachia story, right? So if there's a story we want to tell that goes off in that direction, which would be kind of towards the east, then we would certainly entertain that. There's talks about, you know, if we do another one where it would be, there's nothing concrete or set in stone at this time.
Jason Parker: I had to ask, because Fallout 3 is my favorite in the series. So, I’m hoping we wind up there, sooner or later.
Q. As someone who has covered every major MMO over the last 13 or so years, Fallout 76 is such an interesting game. It has had some major highs and lows, but it really stands out from its peers. Unlike World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV, where you have to essentially re-purchase the game every two-to-three years, the Fallout 76 updates, the major updates, are free. What went into making all these major content drops free, compared to what other MMOs are doing?
Jon Rush: We wanted to be able to, so like I said, these big updates are kind of the next chapter in the Appalachian story, right? So when the game first came out, that was kind of Chapter One, right? And so it was kind of the beginning of the story, the beginning of the book, I suppose. So the playscape was a lot different at that time than it is now. And of course the world has evolved. We've told more stories.
Our players have told their stories, how they influenced the way it's done. So we wanted to keep this game as open and accessible to all players as possible. So making the updates free was the best way to do that, free to existing 76 players.
Jason Parker: Because I know that's a real hurdle for a lot of people that don't actively play MMOs. What do you mean I have to pay a sub and then every two years I have to buy the game again?
Jon Rush: And this is our 64th update.
Jason Parker: I remember when NPCs first hit the game and I was like, this is what I wanted. And so I've been following it for a while now. It's hard as an MMO writer to play every game. And so you've got to make time for everything. This is easily one of my favorite online games. You just sort of log in for a couple hours, wander around, and shoot s**t.
Bill LaCoste: Spoken like a Ghoul.
Q. Out of the content and story that’s available in this update, what would you say is your favorite part of the Fallout 76 Burning Springs update?
Bill LaCoste: Oh, the Bounty Hunting for sure. Yeah, absolutely. Just the fact that the Grunt Hunts are so easily accessible. Like Jon said, going up to the table, you grab the Grunt Hunt, it pops up on your quest log, go do it solo with a friend, whatever you want to do there. But then the chance to either pay for or get through the Grunt Hunts, the ability to do a Headhunt is special because that kicks off, like Jon said, the Public Event.
That shows up for everybody, they can all come and join in. It's also a much more challenging event for everybody, but there's new gear, new recipes, new stuff to get. Yeah, it's really exciting. It's a lot of fun and it also just kind of dips into that whole "get in quickly, do some really cool stuff, fight some things, go back, get a reward."
There's a really good cycle there that a lot of our players enjoy playing in. I do as well. It's fun. So yeah, I guarantee I'll be off in other parts of Appalachia and I'll see one of those pop up and I'll be like, oh man, let's go.
Jason Parker: I have a feeling it would be good for leveling players too, getting some quick XP, quick loot.
Bill LaCoste: Yeah, and I always tell new players coming into the game, first thing, join a Public Team. Join a Public Team, take advantage of the experience boost from having a casual team, and then go explore the world the way you want to explore. But definitely jump into events, jump into some Headhunts maybe a little later after you're geared up a little bit.
But yeah, it's a really good way to meet new friends and that's, again, just another strength about our game in general. Community, friendship, the people who group together and hang out together is pretty strong.
Jon Rush: I love the new Bounty Hunting system and interacting with The Ghoul. But I mean, I really like the two new Public Events as well. Very unique to the Burning Springs region. And the new workshop to claim the Starlight Drive-Through.
Q. Another thing I think is kind of interesting in Fallout 76's Burning Springs is that you have to appease the Rust King. And so you've got to complete all these challenges. I know a lot of people that don't really pay attention to the challenge logs as much.
You know, if they do them, if it pops up, great. If not, you know, no big loss to them. Is that kind of what informed that game decision was to sort of nudge people towards doing more challenges?
Jon Rush: I think so, yeah. And we're also talking about ways to make that a bit more visible to players too. For some players that might overlook that part of the game. But yeah, I'd say that was part of it.
Jason Parker: Because I would like to see, like, a way to make it more visible too. Instead of, like, as a controller player, you're going to pull up the map, press another button, and then go to your Challenges. Yeah, it's just... And that's probably why a lot of people don't see it.
Bill LaCoste: It is true. And one of the other reasons that we want to make sure it's highlighted for folks too is because there's so much in there in terms of rewards. There's Atoms, there's Perk Packs.
There's a lot of stuff that really kind of adds to your ability to continue leveling up. Recipes as well. Yeah, mods. I mean, there are so many things in that challenge list that you can do now, especially on the fishing side. You know, it's part of upgrading your fishing rod, you know, to the Mark II and Mark IIIs. [Jon] Player titles. [Bill] Player titles, yeah. There's a lot of stuff in there that is invisible sometimes.
So like Jon said, we're trying to figure out ways to make that more apparent to players because there's a lot of really good stuff in there. And also, it'll take you to other parts of the map that maybe you haven't been to before. So there's really good reasons to help highlight that better.
Jon Rush: Or playing in ways you've never done before.
Bill LaCoste: Or playing, yeah. All the scout challenges, you know, and stuff like that. Like, there's a ton of things that you discover just from doing those.
Q. Since I’m running out of time, I want to wrap up with one more. I saw the trailer, like everyone else did earlier today, that showed off Walton Goggins is in the game as The Ghoul. Did he sit down with Fallout 76 and play any?
Jon Rush: He's played a bit, yeah. Yeah, he has played a bit. He loves the game. And so when the opportunity came up to contribute and be part of the game, yeah, he was super thrilled about doing that.
Jason Parker: That’s awesome.
Bill LaCoste: I think my most memorable time was actually telling him, like, hey, I'm a fan of some of the earlier stuff he was in. And so he was like, no, no, no. He's like, pleasure's all mine.
I was like, no, no, no, it's not. It's definitely my pleasure to meet you and say hello. But yeah, it's really amazing how all the actors and even the writers and everybody have been so meticulous about the world and how it's set up.
And all just the great things that, again, the actors have said about the games as well, playing them and giving us feedback and just saying how much they really, truly enjoy being a part of this game and this IP. And that's really – that certainly gives you a lot of energy to go in and just make more stuff and be like, you know, I'm really excited to come in and do some more good work today. So yeah, it's fun.
The Burning Springs update drops in December 2025 for Fallout 76, on all platforms, and will offer the biggest map update to the game since 2020. Free for everyone, players will explore Ohio, and meet interesting characters like The Ghoul and the Rust King as they clear bounties and difficult challenges.
