Summary
Despite once being the center of a lot of controversy, the post-launch life ofFallout 76has polished the game to quite a respectable level. As a live-service multiplayer title, the release has received a lot of content updates since 2018, which even take players to brand-new locations away from the base map of Appalachia.
These new experiences inFallout 76are called Expeditions, with The Pitt kicking off this brand of gameplay in 2022. Fans have been eagerly waiting forFallout 76’s next Expedition experience ever since, with it recently being announced that Atlantic City will be the next expansion for the title. Details about Atlantic City are now coming thick and fast, with it being confirmed that three distinct factions have a tight grip over the pleasure city.
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Fallout 76: Atlantic City - The City’s Three Factions
The promotional material forFallout 76’sAtlantic CityExpedition paints the location as a surprisingly vibrant one for the franchise, being relatively untouched throughout the IP’s nuclear war. As a place of leisure and entertainment, the city was not a primary target for any devastation, leading it to flourish more easily post-war than the locations that the franchise usually explores. With vibrant casinos, rife gambling, and neon strips, many fans will note thesimilarities between Atlantic City andFallout: New Vegas, with Atlantic City boasting similar eccentric characters to the 2010 title.
From what is known about the Expedition, it is clear that the three dominantfactions that rule Atlantic City will play a huge role in the upcoming DLC. The Municipal Government is by far the most organized and official of these three groups, controlling the day-to-day operations of the city. Importantly, the Municipal Government has full control over the electricity, water, and food ofAtlantic City, giving it a lot of leverage over the city’s population and the other reigning factions.
The next faction inFallout 76’s Atlantic City Expedition is The Family, an organized crime syndicate that runs a wide range of illicit rackets across the city. In-keeping withFallout’s penchant for 1950s iconography, it is likely that The Family will share a lot of similarities with the real-world Mafia families that populated the United States' East Coast during this time. With gambling and vice being prolific throughout Atlantic City, The Family has risen through the area’s power structure via extortion and loansharking, having a deluge of connections and an iron grip over the city.
The third and final main factioninFallout 76’s Atlantic Cityare known as The Showmen, who are described as “a chaotic guild of entertainers.” It seems as if The Showmen have pulled their ranks from a wide range of entertainment avenues, bound by a shared desire to put on grand spectacles across Atlantic City without outside interference. It is more than likely that The Showmen have banded together to prevent influence from the Municipal Government and The Family, making them an unlikely third group that exercises control over the city.
These three factions come together to make a fascinating mix of dominant forces behind the bright lights of Atlantic City. It is unclear whether players will be able to form alliances with any of these factions or if they are all antagonistic, but they will definitely play a huge role throughout allthe content that the upcomingFallout 76Expedition has to offer.
Fallout 76is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
