Walton Goggins Voices The Ghoul as Fallout 76’s Biggest Update Since 2020 Brings New-Vegas Vibes and Bounty Hunts

Fallout 76 is getting a major content update called Burning Springs, arriving in December and bringing a New Vegas–inspired patch to Ohio with a new bounty system, a voiced character by Walton Goggins, and several public events.

1. Update overview
2. Bounties and The Ghoul
3. New area, factions, and events
4. Rewards and additions
5. Release, testing, and season tie-in

Update overview

Burning Springs is Fallout 76’s largest update since 2020 and is the game’s 64th update since release in 2018. It adds a new region on the west side of the map that turns parts of Ohio into a charred desert wasteland. The update draws visual and thematic inspiration from Fallout 3 and New Vegas, focusing on elements like deserts, deathclaws, and raiders rather than recreating exact locations from those games.

The new area centers around a main hub called Highway Town, which serves as an access point for the update’s new bounty system and several activities. Additionally, there are small nods to past games, such as an abandoned minigolf course with dinosaur statues that echoes New Vegas-era oddities.

Bounties and The Ghoul

The update introduces a bounty system tied to a new NPC called The Ghoul. The character is fully voiced and uses Walton Goggins’ likeness and voice, with original lines written specifically for the game. Players will take bounties from The Ghoul and hunt targets around the new region.

There are two primary bounty types: Grunt Hunts, which are basic targets, and Head Hunts, which are larger boss-level public events designed for multiple players to tackle together. Grunt Hunts generally task players with locating and eliminating a tough enemy within groups of raiders, while Head Hunts escalate the difficulty and require coordination.

New area, factions, and events

The Burning Springs region adds new factions and characters as part of its story, including a central antagonist known as the Rust King. Early missions include efforts to destabilize his rule by completing tasks and recruiting locals.

Mission structure can include checklists of challenges such as killing raiders, landing V.A.T.S. critical hits, and dealing fire damage to enemies. These tasks are used to gain influence with certain characters before progressing faction goals.

New public events are part of the update. Two events shown in previews are Gearing Up—which has teams search for gears in an arena while under a time limit—and Sinkhole Solutions, which sends players into a poisoned pit to clear waves of mutants while avoiding hazardous effects.

Rewards and additions

Burning Springs brings new weapons, gear, and fish. It also adds a pig camp pet named Hog Meat. Highway Town functions as the central hub for the bounty system and related activities, and new factions provide story hooks and progression targets.

Release, testing, and season tie-in

The Ghoul (with Walton Goggins’ voice and likeness) will be added to the public test server on October 2. The full Burning Springs update is scheduled to launch in December, roughly aligning with the release of Fallout season 2 on December 17. The update will also coincide with Fallout 76’s season 23: Blood and Rust.

Looking ahead, a developer at the press event teased that 2026’s big update will “remind players why [Fallout 76] is the best place to adventure with your friends.”