The bad news just keeps on coming for Bethesda Studios in regards to Fallout 76, as a Washington, DC law firm is discussing the idea of launching a class action lawsuit against the developer. At the heart of the potential filing are claims Bethesda engaged in deceptive practices in order to encourage better sales and drive up revenues, all to the detriment of their customers.
The law firm of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP took to Reddit on Monday morning to announce they were looking into the situation and wanted people to contact them specifically if they had purchased the game, and then tried and failed to receive a refund. As of Monday night, the post had received nearly 2,000 comments, mostly from people who were frustrated with Bethesda for launching what they feel is a rather flawed product in Fallout 76.
When giving their rationale for the lawsuit, the firm made it clear a refusal to issue refunds was the primary focus but they also saw real problems with the state the game was launched in. “While minor bugs and glitches are expected with the release of most new games, Fallout 76 launched with a 56GB patch that has proven to be but a starting point for the game’s problems,” the post read.
It’s clear the law firm has tapped into a genuine undercurrent of anger among the gaming community at the way Bethesda has handled its newest title in what is now one of, if not the longest running series the company has in its portfolio. Not long after the Reddit post went up, Migliaccio & Rathod claimed they had gotten such a massive response it crashed their website.
The reported response seems consistent with the level of anger in general among gamers who anxiously awaited another chapter in the Fallout universe. Exploring a totally different time period as well as finally being able to explore the wasteland with other players was something plenty of fans seemed to be looking forward to. Of course, it turns out some of the higher-ups at Bethesda eventually admitted they were more than a little nervous about adding a multiplayer aspect to a series that had been singleplayer until now.
It turns out Todd Howard and company had reason to be concerned. Reviews for Fallout 76 have been among the worst for any game this development team has put together. Sales have apparently been bad enough that the price for the game was discounted by as much as a third of the MSRP just over a week after the title first hit stores. Even their attempt to camouflage the price drop as just another great Black Friday offering blew up in their faces.
People who bought Fallout 76 for $59.99 more just a few days ago were already annoyed to the point they convinced Bethesda to start handing out in-game currency as compensation. The company staring a full-blown lawsuit in the face is, at this point just one more problem to add to the pile.
Fallout 76 is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit
