Bethesda Gifting Free Games to Fallout 76 Early Adopters
Bethesda’s apology campaign for Fallout 76 continues.
The publisher announced yesterday via a tweet that anyone who played the full version of the game during 2018 will receive a free copy of Fallout Classic Collection, which includes Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics. The offer applies to Fallout 76 players on all platforms despite the collection only being available on PC. The tweet doesn’t specify how the collection will be distributed, but it’s safe to assume that Bethesda will use its own Bethesda.net Launcher when the offer goes live early next month.
The tweet doesn’t mention that the giveaway is in response to the negative reception and controversies surrounding Fallout 76, but it’s difficult to see it any other way.
The game currently sits in the low 50s on Metacritic across PC, PS4, and Xbox One and is widely regarded as one of the most underwhelming releases of the year. It was panned for its array of technical issues, underwhelming storytelling, and dull solo play. The general consensus was that an online, multiplayer Fallout game was the exact opposite of what fans want from the franchise.
The issues with the game’s launch went further than the game itself, however. Those who purchased the Power Armor Edition of Fallout 76 discovered that it came with a low quality nylon bag, as opposed to the canvas bag that was described in marketing materials for the product. Bethesda was initially providing a paltry 500 in-game Atoms as compensation, which is the equivalent of $5 USD, but has since confirmed that it will manufacture the promised canvas bags. Power Armor Edition owners have until January 31, 2019 to fill out the Power Armor Edition Bag Replacement Form on the Bethesda Support Website.
It remains to be seen if Bethesda can change the narrative surrounding Fallout 76. The game got a massive 47GB update shortly after launch, and this past week, a minor patch was deployed that brought a variety of bug fixes and stability improvements.
Kyle Flory
Kyle is a lifelong gamer and writer who studied English at Cal State San Bernardino. He has been a PlayStation fan since the release of Sony's original console and puts most of his game time in on his PS5. He loves Metal Gear Solid, and is currently working on getting platinum trophies for every game in the series.
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