Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop

Vault-Tec Workshop is an expansion for Fallout 4 that lets you build an underground settlement in the style of the Vault-Tec bunkers. It adds new building parts, furniture and residents, plus a quest line around Vault 88. The main game Fallout 4 is required.

Vault-Tec Workshop was released in July 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Steam and some console stores list July 25, while Bethesda announced worldwide availability on July 26, 2016. The native Fallout 4 versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S were released on April 25, 2024.

Vault-Tec Workshop is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. On PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the expansion is part of the respective native Fallout 4 versions, which Bethesda released in April 2024.

The focus is on building a large, habitable bunker. You open up underground areas, place rooms and facilities, and supply the new settlement. Unlike the purely decorative content of other workshop expansions, Vault-Tec Workshop also includes its own quest line.

The expansion adds new vault parts, corridors, furniture, lamps and decorations in the style of the pre-war era. Many elements are suitable for your own underground facilities. Some building objects are only unlocked after you complete the relevant tasks in Vault 88.

For the PC version, Steam lists among other things an Intel Core i5-2300 or AMD Phenom II X4 945, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 550 Ti with 2 GB or Radeon HD 7870 as minimum requirements. To access the expansion, Fallout 4 must be installed.

Vault 88 lies beneath the Quincy Quarries and forms the center of the expansion. The area offers extensive underground zones that can gradually be turned into a working settlement. The build site therefore differs clearly from the above-ground settlements in the Commonwealth.

From character level 20 you receive the beacon from Vault 88 via the radio and can follow the new quest. If you are still below level 20, you can reach the expansion via the Quincy Quarry. Fights there can be difficult for low-level characters.

As in other settlements, you attract residents and look after their housing. The new vault rooms and furniture create an environment that is closer to the familiar fallout shelters of the Fallout series. The expansion remains part of Fallout 4's existing settlement system.

As you progress through the tasks, you can test experimental equipment on the residents. The expansion thus picks up the satirical background of the Vault-Tec bunkers: their official promises of protection often contradicted the experiments inside.

A short storyline takes you into the new bunker and introduces you to its residents and facilities. Once you complete it, more workshop items become available. The expansion is therefore more than just a collection of extra building objects.

The resource and skill rules of the main game still apply to the vault build. The expansion does not give you extra materials or special building skills. However, as you progress through tasks, more items are unlocked in the build menu.

Vault-Tec Workshop adds to Fallout 4's single-player world and uses the character from your existing save. A separate multiplayer mode is not included. You explore the new area, fight and build as part of the main game.

For the PC version, Steam lists German text, subtitles and full German voice-over. Other languages such as English, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese are also available. Language details apply to the PC product offered there.

Vault-Tec Workshop is available separately and is also part of the Game of the Year Edition and the Season Pass for Fallout 4. The Anniversary Edition also bundles the classic expansions. If you already own a relevant bundle, you don't need to buy the same content again.

The native versions of Fallout 4 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S offer their own applications with performance and quality modes. Bethesda cites a display of up to 60 frames per second and higher resolutions. These improvements affect the core technology of the main game and therefore its expansions too.