For the first time, Appalachia was populated with living survivors. A full dialogue system—complete with S.P.E.C.I.A.L. checks similar to Fallout 3 —was added to both new and original NPCs.

Players can choose to side with the Raiders (at Crater) or the Settlers (at Foundation), earning reputation to unlock faction-specific rewards like the Gauss Minigun or Gauss Shotgun.

An endgame economy was established using Gold Bullion, earned via Treasury Notes from public events, to purchase high-level gear plans. PC Download & Installation Guide

Specific NPCs can now live at your base, defend it, and provide daily quests or romance opportunities.

The 2020 roadmap brought several critical systems that remain core to the experience today:

The primary feature of in 2020 was the massive Wastelanders expansion, which fundamentally transformed the game by introducing human NPCs, a brand-new main questline, and a deep dialogue system. This update also marked the game's official debut on Steam on April 14, 2020. Key Game Features (2020 Updates)