Bethesda Softworks may already be feeling the effects of critical reviews for "Fallout 76" and it seems that the video game publisher is not too happy about it. With "Fallout 76" barely a month out, recent events have been adding to the company's problems with the "Fallout" franchise's first online title.
In one of the most surprising price drops for a recently released game, "Fallout 76" went as low as $35 from its almost $80 regular price. Gearnuke highlights the significance in the price drop for "Fallout 76" by pointing out that "Hitman 2" and "Spyro Reignited" - two games that released at the same time as "Fallout 76" - were not discounting their prices as low as Bethesda's newest multiplayer game.
PC Gamer notes that the massive discount for "Fallout 76" is possibly linked to the prevalence of lukewarm and negative reviews for Bethesda's latest title. In addition, "Fallout 76's" own bugs and gameplay issues may be the defining factor that is currently keeping a lot of players away from its regular price.
Aside from a potentially stagnating sales, Bethesda has to deal with the fact that players are currently unhappy with the current "Fallout 76" experience and are willing to leave the game because of this. Gamespot's review of "Fallout 76" points out that aside from the game's inability to create an emotional connection between the game world, game mechanics which simply burden players rather than immerse them, and a narrative that is better left ignored, the game's many technical issues are definitely a significant hurdle.
Even after the game received massive day one and day two patches, a significant number of "Fallout 76" players still do not see an improvement in the gameplay. But apparently, Bethesda is not taking the general disappointment to "Fallout 76" quite well.
Comic Book (via Reddit) recently found out that a fair number of "Fallout 76" players have been having trouble getting refunds for their purchased games. Unfortunately for players who had pre-ordered or bought digital copies of "Fallout 76," it seems that Bethesda has covered their bases by asking players to waive their cancellation rights if they download digital content for the game within the 30-day cancellation period.
Considering the general dissatisfaction for "Fallout 76," the trouble over getting Bethesda to refund the game seems to be adding to the pressure of discontent from the "Fallout" fanbase. According to the publication, Bethesda has yet to respond when contacted about the specific issue.
