Friday, November 23rd 2018
Bethesda Continues to Struggle With Fallout 76, Refunds Now a Possibility
With the release of Fallout 76 a week ago, Bethesda continues the tradition of releasing buggy games that are full of glitches and issues. These problems are always expected to come from Bethesda; typically the game is still fun however unlike previous titles, Fallout 76 is has been universally panned by gamers and critics alike. At this point, some of the bugs, exploits, and problems are just hilariously bad. Tools such as Nukacrypt are already available online, using only a partial code it can decrypt the in-game nuclear launch codes drastically speeding up the overall process. Keeping with nuke theme, players working together were able to crash a Bethesda server by launching three nukes simultaneously. There are more glaring examples but when you add them to the laundry list of problems its begins to look pretty bad even for Bethesda.
Then there is Brogadyn on Reddit, who for a week now has been stuck in a semi-god mode. Usually that would be something to rejoice about but in this case, has caused many issues with the game's mechanics as the player is seen to have 0 HP. Worse yet, Bethesda has been dragging their feet when it comes to looking into the problem with Brogadyn speculating that they could reproduce the issue based on the circumstances in which the issue occurred. When you consider all this along with the general bugs, glitches, and problems that are typically a minor annoyance, you end up with a game that likely should have stayed in beta.
In general Fallout 76 is currently such a mess that the game is already discounted by $20 just about everywhere, including from Bethesda themselves. Adding to the problem is the sad fact gameplay is considered quite dull making for a perfect storm where it was only a matter of time before the refund chant would begin which is likely sooner rather than later thanks to Fernando, a user on the Resetera forums, who has supposedly managed to receive a refund from Bethesda directly. Meaning if you bought the game elsewhere you might be out of luck, but if you bought it directly from Bethesda, you might stand a chance at getting your money back.
Still looking at Steam and its current refund policy it is highly likely the game would already be experiencing a massive number of refunds if it was available on that distribution platform. Bethesda's avoidance of Steam on this title means they are in control of refunds which with no clearly defined terms leaves a lot of questions unanswered. That said, considering Bethesda warned everyone how buggy the game would be I guess no one should be surprised by the current events.
Sources:
Bethesda, Resetera, Youtube, Kotaku
Then there is Brogadyn on Reddit, who for a week now has been stuck in a semi-god mode. Usually that would be something to rejoice about but in this case, has caused many issues with the game's mechanics as the player is seen to have 0 HP. Worse yet, Bethesda has been dragging their feet when it comes to looking into the problem with Brogadyn speculating that they could reproduce the issue based on the circumstances in which the issue occurred. When you consider all this along with the general bugs, glitches, and problems that are typically a minor annoyance, you end up with a game that likely should have stayed in beta.
Still looking at Steam and its current refund policy it is highly likely the game would already be experiencing a massive number of refunds if it was available on that distribution platform. Bethesda's avoidance of Steam on this title means they are in control of refunds which with no clearly defined terms leaves a lot of questions unanswered. That said, considering Bethesda warned everyone how buggy the game would be I guess no one should be surprised by the current events.
127 Comments on Bethesda Continues to Struggle With Fallout 76, Refunds Now a Possibility
I really believe people like us here are the minority.
Edit:
What blows my mind even more than all the failings of this release, Is when it's proponents will claim "but it's fun when you play with friends". A ping pong ball is fun when you play with friends, snowballs are fun when you play with friends, Hell farting is fun when it's done with friends. A game being fun when it's played with friends doesn't say a lot for that game, Especially when it's the strongest part or positive aspect of that game. Just because 10% of players are content with this game ,doesn't mean anything other than they don't see its faults. A blind man may not see floors covered in shit, but just because he doesn't see the shit , it doesn't mean it's not there. but rest assured, he still slips around on it when he walks, so he's aware, but some choose to ignore its presence.
Fallout 76 is the first time the Fallout *heh* of this kind of lazy development has become clear, with people outright refusing to buy the game and the servers being a wasteland *heh* devoid of any life. FO76 was an exercise in lazy, shitty game development, with less content then many indie games stretched out over an MMO landscape, and bethesda is just now realizing all that "review bombing" was their actual customers displaying dissatisfaction at their actions rather then a bunch of internet trolls. They now know: consumers are getting sick and tired of bethesda's excuses, and sales are reflecting that.
Of course, fallout 5 being single player might reverse that animosity, but we'll see. Consumers were willing to put up with bethesda's BS for years, they may be willing to continue to do so with future releases.
All of this is ironic, as bethesda owns iD, and the rights to iDtech 6, which is hands down a superior game engine.
From Bethesda:So that single forum post that started this news story might not be true. Others are reporting the same.
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting the Bethesda Support Team.
Customers who have downloaded the game are not eligible for a refund. We apologize for the inconvenience.
If there is anything else we can assist you with please reply to this email for further assistance.
Thank you for your patience.
Kind Regards,
Bethesda Support
I will say years ago I bought a game by this same company and it was beyond buggy as all hell, woudn't even play the cinematic cut scenes properly, never mind the game itself was an adventure in buggyness. I'll never buy anything from these guys again if I even buy another game at all.
BTW @Bladej - Double posting the same exact thing doesn't make your point any more or less relevant. It's understood getting a refund from them for anyone will be about as pleasant as getting your teeth pulled.
Just said this shitty conclusion of mine, cause lots of people was posting that they got a refund with no problem at all, and some sites posted it too, like these ones:
www.resetera.com/threads/refunds-available-for-fallout-76-pc-bethesda-launcher.82628/
www.legitreviews.com/bethesda-refunding-fallout-76-pc-purchases_209251
www.techpowerup.com/249888/bethesda-continues-to-struggle-with-fallout-76-refunds-now-a-possibility
I just feel sorry for those that banked on Bethesda actually having something GOOD this time.
After that one game I had, I just wrote them off as a crap software corp and moved on.
BTW do bear in mind that was very early on, some won't like the game and refunds at that pojnt aren't a problem, it's when the game is found to be a total crap-fest and EVERYONE want a refund is when they get stubborn about it. Also noted the source of the refund being said to have happened was from a single individual in both off site links, in fact legitreviews used the same source - Also the guy is probrably a BIG gamer and reviewer too.
Can't say if that's really so but you never know, I've never heard of him before.
What they don't seem to be seeing yet is that the empire they have built over these past couple of decades CAN fall. I think they tend to think of all of us as some sort of family who just adores their games and lovingly crafts improvements, all while accepting them for what they are. No matter what! And we HAVE been a very apologetic community. There's some truth to that but at the end of the day, if you repeatedly let down your family, in the same way no less, they will eventually stop answering your calls and inviting you to stuff. It's important to cherish what you have in family and do right by them. ;)
By now they should know very well that we want only two simple things. 1. A better engine or at least a REAL overhaul (not tack-ons.) And 2. A new open-world RPG, major release. It has been more than long enough for them to do both. And yet we see none. They're going to see just how fast a monolith can go from legend to relic if their next release shares any of the traits that this one has. I am very glad to see the outcry. It has been long overdue. People have been too tolerant their practices for too long, and it's made them as complacent as we have been. Easy to do. At the end of the day the games are still fun. But the signs of something like this coming about have been out there for some time now. It's okay until it isn't.
And then it's very bad.
It's time for them to just stop whatever they're doing and focus on the mechanical end. No denying it now, I hope. They'll probably try to skirt, if I'm reading them denying refunds properly. They want to act like there isn't a problem... ...that or they think they can fix this fast enough and *just* well enough for people not to be super pissed, like they usually do. Or maybe they're betting on modders bailing them out and drawing these people back, like they usually do. Problem is... this time, the game is ALREADY ruined for a lot of people, some of whom will not come back, whether it gets fixed or not. Stuff like this can be really damaging, especially when your rep already precedes you. Hopefully nobody will have it. They need to take a real fall here. And I say that not out of spite, but as someone who has enjoyed several of their releases and wants to see them be better.
The tangential possibility here is they know they're cooking up something so much better that they can afford the risk of 76 flopping. I.E. "Just you wait..." Maybe they've already fixed this stuff and we just haven't seen it yet. It's possible, given that development for this started back when FO4 was still pretty new. May be they just went too far with it to go back and are just hoping to break even. I mean, they had to know, right? Can only hope. :/
Aparently in this one though bethesda wants to be a global asshole, not just a regional one.Some cards do indeed offer a "Satisfaction Guarantee." You'd need to ask your CC company.
However, if you own any other bethesda.net content, be aware they may take retaliatory action (bethesda.net ban) to "settle your account."
Then again, steam is only a retailer, and my friend who relayed this likely made the situation worse than it had to be.
Folks if you don't defend your rights, you lose them. Never back down, never take no for an answer. If they want your money, they have to earn it and respect you in the process.