Fallout 76 releases next month, and Bethesda’s already filled its pants. The publisher seems terrified of the reception to its online-based apocalyptic adventure, so much so that it’s written a letter to fans effectively telling them that it’s going to be broken beyond belief. In the honest and frank social media message, it warned of “spectacular issues” and said it needed “help” finding bugs. The letter even goes so far as to say that it requires “advice on what’s important to fix”.
Frankly it’s a bizarre piece of correspondence. We understand that the game’s scale is unprecedented for the franchise, but is this really acceptable for a title that will be sold full-price as soon as next month? There’s still a beta to come on the PlayStation 4, but early impressions from the Xbox One X version are awful – and the company has even acknowledged that “performance needs to improve”. It says it’ll “address all of it, now and after launch”. Hmm.
We’ll let you read the full letter below:
We suppose the subtext to all of this is that Fallout 76 is a work in progress, and even though it will release next month, that’s just the beginning for Bethesda’s band of put-upon developers. And, look, we get that constantly evolving games are probably going to represent the future of the industry, so we’re generally fine with that aspect. But releasing a product that the publisher accepts is going to be broken? We suppose it wouldn't be the first time. :todd:
[source twitter.com]
Comments 53
Leave it to Bethesda to call issues in their game spectacular 😂
Subtitle says it all, if they want me to play this, they better be paying me to do so, not alpha testing their three year cash grab.
Bethesda studio's games gets better over time. Like wine. The longer you wait the better the game gets.
If it's gonna be busted, then you could, I dunno, delay it? Give yourself more time to fix it? Wouldn't that be the best course?
There must be something in their contracts that mandates a certain amount of bugs at launch.
Lol ok Bethesda. Good luck with that. Its a fine line. I get what they want to do and achieve, but this isnt ok. And if we start telling devs that releasing broken games is fine by supporting this, what does that mean for the future of our medium
More reason to just wait for a price drop even though I'm a HUGE Fallout fan.
@ShogunRok I'm intrigued to know what that awesome gif is from and what is happening in it?
woah that is an odd move to say the least... wonder what has been going on at their studios, do they know its possible to update engines???
This game looks like should be free to play ...
@ApostateMage It's from a music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npviUaIn_d4
GIF is taken from a shot at around the 1:15 mark. One of my favourite gifs of all time.
@RogerRoger It's all about embracing the memes
No
Hahahahaha. Wow, they just came out and said it. Oh boy, $60 beta incoming! Consider this off my radar even more now
Even as a Fallout fan, I think I'll be skipping this one.
Considering Bethesda always release full price Beta's it was only a matter of time that they charge full price for an Alpha build.
Eh, i’ll wait on this one. I’m sure it’ll be interesting once they get the major bugs worked out but I’d rather play a finished/close to finished game than a preview version. Besides, I still need to play the upcoming Spidey DLC, Red Dead II, and Spyro
The replies to the tweet are incredible. So many people just lapping it up that I have to imagine they’re fake accounts.
No thanks.
Love Fallout, but I never had any intention of getting this one before (let alone after reading that letter), due to Bethesda's ongoing rep for bugs infestations in their rpgs, which they seem to treat more like a heritage site which needs to be preserved in perpetuity rather than something which needs to be fixed asap! They'd be better off making this a free to play game, as then they'd suffer no damage to their reputation and would undoubtedly make a fortune off of MTX, which could be justified if it was a free to play buggy mess rather than a AAA price one! So gonna continue to hold out for a New Vegas Remaster myself.
Micro$oft and Bethesda, what a couple. lol
Im as big a fallout fan as the next and was SO close to pre ordering this the second itcwas announced but im really ..... Really glad i didnt.
I may get it way later on sale some day.
So you're saying I should just sell my Power Armor edition. Gotcha.
Wtf bethesda, maybe don't sell the game if it still broken??
@get2sammyb I read some of the cringy tweets, there's no way that's real, I refuse to believe it's real.
@DerMeister They probably need capital to keep developing the game.
Yes i will be an unpaid game tester, and yes i will pay Bethesda to allow me to test their game. Not!!
I recently cancelled my preorder due to other games being time consuming (odyssey, north star, rdr2) but this has made me happy with my decision. I dont mind bethesda bugs but in an big online game its gonna be unbearable.
lol this is too good to be true. If Bethesda calls a game unfinished, you're in for a ride.
Like purchasing a new car without an engine. Why oh why would anyone buy this day one and line Bethesdas pockets with gold? This is a perfect example of what's wrong with the industry these days. Jim Sterling will have a field day with this one
This is bizarre madness. Delay the game, simple as. I am not outraged, just bewildered. Feels like they are writing it off before it launches. This beta must be knackered.
Bugthesda
Well there getting their excuses in early for a change, hope people don't give them a pass this time.
I guess Bethesda putting there nomination in for the "hold my Beer" award for 2018.
There's always a silver lining of course. Remember those hilarious Mass Effect Andromeda videos that surfaced early on? Get the popcorn ready, folks.
it's not often I say this, but I really want this game to fail.
It should never have been made, and it reeks of a needless cash grab. Bethesda should be better than this.
It's a shame that Bethesda is so new to making these games and the they don't have a game engine from the Fallout 3 days to build upon, or if they had at least made an Elder Scrolls online game as a reference point.
You'd think they were funded through Kickstarter the way they carry on sometimes.
I was on the fence about this game but Unfortunately Bethesda built that fence and it fell over with me on the not interested side
When I first read this I thought that surely they’re playing a joke and trolling us, kinda like Insomniac recently did with the additional puddles. But frightenly, I think they are serious, which boggles the mind.
I guess it’s like overweight people who make fun of themselves for their weight — if you point out your own idiosyncrasies before anyone else can, then you neutralize any future criticism to a degree.
On the one hand I'm kinda impressed that they've been honest enough to just come out and let people know that their game is in a proper state and it'll need patching. On the other hand it's mind boggling that a company of their size and stature thinks knowingly releasing a game that's in a proper state at full price on the proviso that they'll fix it later is totes okay.
Sure, we'll QA it at a cost of $60 to us while Bethesda is making money hand over fist.
I say "we." I mean "you." Because there's no way I'm playing this.
I can't work myself up to be excited about this.
I wasn't interested anyway, but now I'm just amazed that they are even releasing it at all. I mean, how can you simultaneously release that letter and then charge £60/£70 for the game? What a joke.
Lmao Bethesda knows no shame, not only do we have to wait ten+ years for another Elder Scrolls, then they insult us with their laughable creation club. Now they dare ask us to test their broken product of a game that nobody asked for. I really hope this one fails.
What a garbage company...
Now this is funny.
Wow this is bad even for Bethesda. I guess a can of raid isn't enough this time around.
At the least the marketing for this game isn’t tied to the PlayStation brand.
@ApostateMage I think its something like this HAHA they are joking WTF you are serious im going to punch you in the face.
I thought you can release broken games? QA does not apply to Bethesda.
@NintendoFan4Lyf Who needs testing when you have idiots like this.
Bethesda in broken game shocker.... If the XBox version was awful, I hate to think what the PS4 version will do? Best wait a couple of years until they have something vaguely fixed that doesn't format your hard drive.
That doesn't sound like something you should just try to laugh off.
beyond a joke glad I want nothing to do with it.
The first XBox beta was a 4 hour window, I watched one streamer play for 2.5 hours and there are a whole host of other streams now archived on Twitch.
I've pre-ordered for PS4 now. If you're on the fence like I was streams like these are invaluable.
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