Inevitably, the New California Republic Power Armor that made such a dramatic appearance in the latest episode of the Fallout TV show is now in Fallout 76. But rather than sell it via the in-game shop and thus allow players to buy it with Atoms, Fallout 76’s virtual currency, it is only available as part of a standalone DLC bundle priced $30.
In lieu of a brand new Fallout video game, Bethesda has leaned heavily on Fallout 76 to capitalize on boosted interest in all things Fallout following the breakout success of the Prime Video TV show. Fallout 76 has Walton Goggins’ character The Ghoul dishing out quests, for example. There is a New Vegas-style expansion (Season 2 is set in New Vegas — or what’s left of it). And now Fallout 76 has the NCR Power Armor that Maximus uses to fight a pack of Deathclaws in Episode 7.
Never underestimate the power of brand recognition. pic.twitter.com/vuHbfcQ6EB
— FALLOUT⚡️ (@falloutonprime) January 28, 2026
That NCR Power Armor is a big talking point among Fallout fans for a number of reasons. It’s brand new — we’ve not seen its type in the video games before — and it sparks all sorts of questions about the Fallout lore and what we thought the NCR was capable of. Setting aside the fact that an NCR Power Armor appearance in Fallout 76, which is set before all the other Fallout video games, makes little sense lore wise because the NCR didn’t exist yet, its price has become the big talking point.
The NCR Power Armor is available in Fallout 76 via the Mojave Bundle, which includes the following:
- Ranger Power Armor Paint
- NCR Flag
- New Vegas Neon Sign
- Ad Victoriam (Super Sledge)
- Legion Legate Outfit
- Player Title Prefix – “Advictoriam”
- Player Title Prefix & Suffix – “Tribune”
The long and the short of it is that if you want the NCR Power Armor, you need to hand over $30 for this entire bundle — a standard practice these days really, where DLC bundles often cost more than entire video games, and items you might not necessarily want are thrown in to improve “value.”
Some fans have said the bundle is overpriced at $30, and accused Bethesda of “cashing in” on the show by not making it available to buy for Atoms, which most players will have stashed away for DLC like this.
“Yeah, the price of the Mojave bundle is ridiculous,” one fan said. “It’s exhausting to watch a studio that once had credibility reduce everything to cash grabs. I guess a lot of people will pay for it anyway. Good luck.”
It’s a sentiment shared by many across the various Fallout subreddits, Steam’s own forum, and social media. “Yeah this is a hard pass for me. Put it in the Atom shop,” said a disgruntled fan. “£26.99 for eight items, two of which are just words!!!” added another. “Then you’ve got two C.A.M.P items, a Power Armor paint, a weapon, plus an outfit with a helmet…. Not even a cheeky few hundred Atoms thrown in! That’s actually peak lmao, but whilst people keep buying it, Bethesda are going to keep selling it!”
“This DLC includes a set of armor that I’m never going to wear because the Legate armor doesn’t fit in thematically with anything, it also includes a flag and a neon sign, none of which are of particular value to me,” reads one negative Steam review. “And with the Burning Sands starter bundle you at least get a free bullet machine. This bundle gives you nothing of value. For me the only reason to pick this up is the NCR Power Armor, which I can understand cashing in on the show, but they clearly didn’t want to put it on the Atom shop for the people who have saved atoms. I would have paid $10 for this item no problem.”
However, not all players agree. Many are pointing to the $30 price point being standard for bundles of this type in Fallout 76 (and in other games), and others are saying you can simply choose not to but it if you don’t like it.
“Is it overpriced? Yes. Is it undervalued? Yes,” countered one fan. “It’s still not predatory, because you can simply NOT BUY IT. You lose out on zero actual gameplay by not buying it. You also don’t gain any gameplay from buying it. If having this bundle gave me some type of advantage in-game, that might be predatory, but this is just another bundle. I’ve skipped plenty of those over the years. This bundle replaced the Atomic Angler bundle, which I believe was also $30. There’s ALWAYS going to be a cash bundle out there. Just don’t buy it. It’s that simple.”
“You know as weird as it is I just don’t mind,” said another. “There’s no gameplay content or quests / locations locked behind the purchase, so far every expansion has been released for free, there’s plenty to do in the game and loads of other cosmetics and camp stuff to get for free or buy with atoms from challenges, the game (imo) doles out tons of Atoms anyway, and from my understanding these bundles typically go on more than 50% off sale pretty regularly.
“So I mean like, whatever, you don’t need to day one buy every single piece of content, if Bethesda releasing these lil whale drops occasionally means the vast majority of the game can stay free for the vast majority of players that’s a good thing. Just be glad we’re not a gacha or a lootbox game or something with actual predatory pricing.”
Bethesda will of course be hoping that as many fans as possible decide that $30 is a reasonable price to pay to patrol the desert of Burning Springs like you’re straight out of the Fallout TV show. Data shows that the show has fueled an increase in player numbers for all Fallout games, with some newcomers dipping into the likes of Fallout 76 for the first time. I imagine in that context, this NCR Power Armor will prove quite popular.
Fallout 76 itself, meanwhile, is free-to-play until February 5, with the Season 2 finale set to broadcast on February 3. If you need to catch up, Amazon has released Season 1 for free on YouTube. If you’re up to date, it’s worth checking out the Fallout co-showrunner’s tease about Season 2, Episode 8, which sounds like it will have a significant impact on The Ghoul, Lucy, and Maximus. After that, be sure to check out IGN’s Fallout Season 2, Episode 7 review.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
