Fallout 76 was the much-anticipated continuation of Fallout 4. Supposed to be bigger and better, 76 lived up to the hype for all the wrong reasons. It might be the jankiest, most bugged release for a big title in history.
It takes a pretty disastrous execution to result in thousands of dollars in losses and a class action lawsuit. The game has made a pretty dramatic comeback since the release, bouncing back from its record low cost of $11.00 at one point. Here are 10 of the biggest controversies about the game, explained.
10 Canvas Bags
It’s all about the gear these days, and Fallout 76 was offering a seemingly amazing pack to go along with its launch. One of the items was a canvas bag that the fanbase was pretty excited for. How disappointing it was when the bag cam made of cheap nylon instead of actual canvass.
Players paid $200 and got duped. What makes it worse? Real canvas bags were sent to influencers who promoted the pack in the first place. This led to an eventual reshipping of real canvas bags after the masses made their opinions heard.
9 Nuka Cola Dark Rum
In theory, official Fallout rum was one of the coolest things you can buy in relation to a game. In practice, it was a disappointment that later became a joke. Costing you $80 on the preorder was a heavy hut, but well worth it for some as a cool design.
When it comes over a month late, the hype dies down significantly. Instead of a slick glass bottle, they decided to cut corners and throw a plastic mold around it instead. the fact that the drink itself was subpar was no surprise to the few who didn’t cancel their order.
8 Bug Heaven
Almost every game ever made has come with its own unique set of glitches. However, Fallout 76 came with every glitch in the book and then some. It made the already clunky gameplay now seem laughable as you had to wade through enemy clones and stretched out AI’s.
Although a good amount of these glitches has now been mended with patches, first impressions count. The first players probably thought it was some kind of a joke when they saw the near-constant stream of bugs preventing them from playing the game properly.
7 Error CE-34878-0
This might also fall under the bud umbrella, if it does then it claims the crown. One of the only major releases to make a mistake so severe, this error will shut down whatever system you choose to play it on.
So players just have to restart the system, right? Well, no. In some cases, the error corrupts the software, meaning you have to uninstall and reinstall the near 60 GB game all over again. How such a massive flaw from a company like Bethesda got through? We’ll never know.
6 Rushed Development
Fallout 76 really seems like it was a cursed game from the get-go. With multiple roadblocks and issues to tackle through the initial phases, it really slowed the development team down with an already fast-approaching deadline. Even so far as to tweaking the game engine to accommodate online play.
Most companies would put their A-Team on the job, especially with such a large title and the huge amount of promotion that went behind it. Unfortunately, the project fell on the heads of their smaller offices, making such a huge task almost impossible.
5 In-Game Exploits
With the sheer number of huge online titles that come out, it’s impressive that there aren’t exploits in more games. Then again most studios have all their t’s crossed and I’m dotted. it’s important because they really do ruin the whole fun of working for or accomplishing anything online.
From immortality to leveling up at astronomical rates, it felt like the early 2000s with how many exploits kept popping up. Cheap tricks left the dedicated grinders with a sense of betrayal and feeling like their time was wasted, while the exploiters quickly grow bored because it all came so easily.
4 Failed Punishment
Nobody likes a cheater, but you have to be prepared for the inevitable group that will try and find every flaw in the defenses. The Bethesda team literally left themselves wide open, which includes their dev room. So when the horde came and they didn’t have an answer, they resorted to desperate measures.
Banning any and all suspicious accounts left a lot of innocents caught in the crossfire. Bethesda even offered an unban if you wrote an essay on how cheating affects gaming communities. We all know that was the last thing that was going to happen.
3 The Atomic Shop
The mere concept of Micro-Transactions have come under a lot of fire as of late. That’s without all the shenanigans of the Atomic Shop. Offering useless cosmetic items for insanely high prices has become an unfortunate trend in many franchises, but the Atomic Store might take the cake.
Silly hats and shoes are something we can all appreciate from time to time but pricing them at over 10 dollars is a little rich. Christmas emoticons are the infamous example costing you upwards of 15 dollars.
2 A Refund Tidal Wave
Not surprisingly when the average player sees the chaos that was Fallout 76 upon release they head for the exit. When the information got out that you could potentially return the game with 24 hours of playtime, the waves of disappointed fans started breaking.
When Bethesda realized how many refunds were being made they shut it down entirely. If you had downloaded the game, it was yours forever. Sending the community into a justified temper tantrum in the meantime. This was followed by a class-action lawsuit and a swift adjustment to the policy.
1 Bethesda Information Leak
With all these products coming in late and lack of quality for their merchandise, it was time to offer the fixes. For the canvas bag, they actually decided to make it canvas and give it to the fans, in four to six months’ time. In order to get the real bag, you had to fill in your information in on the website. Seems normal right? Short answer: No.
As if to match the poorly made game, Bethesda told gamers looking for a replacement bag to leave their information on a vulnerable website. The site accidentally exposed everyone’s information and sent the Bethesda team into a panic before they shut the website down altogether. Whether this was intentional or not will never be known.
NEXT: 10 Amazing Areas Fallout 5 Should Be Set In
