The Worst Launch In Gaming History

Fallout 76 Is A Dumpster Fire

Fallout 76 has had the worst launch I’ve ever seen in a video game. Full Stop. I’ve never seen a community turn so fast against a popular game developer, and I’ve never seen the gaming community at large take great interest in such a large dumpster fire. The reality is that Bethesda Game Studios just straight up betrayed the fandom by releasing a game that was filled with countless bugs and stability issues at launch. That said, it’s been 4 months since players first logged in and experienced these problems, but many of them have been fixed. I started playing Fallout 76 on January 11th and I bought the game for $30 which is why I have a very different perspective when it comes to the dumpster fire. Plain and simple, Fallout 76 is objectively better for everyone, but still will be the subject of criticism for the most hardcore of players and for game journalists across any medium. 

The First Early Access Bethesda Title

The Fallout 76 Beta Was A Disaster

Fallout 76 earned a lot of hate because it sucked at launch by being an unstable, buggy mess, in addition to being vastly different from its predecessors in terms of game play and polish. A lot of people hate this game for good reason because they bought it in early access or at launch for full price and were given a dumpster fire. It’s pretty hard to forget catastrophes, dumpster fires,  and anything caught in a media cycle, regardless of topic or industry, and Bethesda will carry this badge of shame for a long time. Bethesda’s failures aren’t the only thing influencing people’s purchasing decisions because Fallout 76 is being attacked on all sides.

The Problem With Using Reddit As Your Source

The Reddit Community Is Filled With Bethesda Haters, Super Hardcore Players, and a Couple Fans

Subreddits by their design cater to the most dedicated, precise, and hardcore communities of their subject and the Fallout 76 subreddit does just that. If you go there, you’ll find many posts about problems that still persist in the game, problems which need to be addressed and fixed, problems which by no means are game breaking for my PC gaming experience. That said, the subreddit is still a great tool and platform for communication between players who find these bugs and issues, and the developers who can fix them and when a subreddit functions like that, there can be progress. Sadly, the vast majority of the subreddit is frequented by people who are bored, angry, and find joy in hate. These bored players are hardcore fans who’ve been played since November and dedicated over 100 hours into the game. These people have effectively beat the game and have nothing left to do, which is their biggest complaint, which is why there’s always another person saying they’re going to quit. These disgruntled fans have already been pissed off like many at the launch of the game, but have decided to stick around, for a while which is why they continue to play and be angry on the internet. Bethesda is not innocent here and they have definitely given the community valid reasons for their anger, but the reasons for anger are much less dramatic than the unplayable state of the game at launch. The subreddit is overwhelming a place where you’re guaranteed to find bad news and disappointment, from someone who’s been playing for over 300 hours.

Controversy Generates Clicks

Traditional Game’s Media Websites Are Only Out For The Clicks and Controversy

Bethesda gave the community reasons to be mad, and of course, the game’s media was there to report on it. They did a great job and it seemed like the entire game industry was talking about how bad Fallout 76 is and Youtubers and media websites were getting an insane amount of traction at launch. It was a big deal that such a massive, beloved franchise could fail so hard. These companies aren’t supported by clicks and they don’t live and die by people consuming Fallout 76 videos and articles, but they definitely profit and have the motive to continue reporting on any controversy, regardless of how controversial it really is. Generally speaking, a game journalist who write articles, doesn’t have enough time to play the games the write on which is absolutely ridiculous. Today, most writers go to a subreddit, see what people are talking about, and then they distribute it on their website. That’s good reporting except when the source is naturally predisposed to blowing controversy out of proportion. Fallout 76 has far fewer problems that affect the general community than it did at launch, and most of the balances changes or bugs happening today don’t really affect casual players like me. Still though, when a disgruntled, bitter gamer who’s is bored with the game is the source for an article, there’s a problem. Which is why media outlets instead fill most of their current articles with content that previously published 3 months ago. It’s just bad and lazy journalism, by writers who are desperate to find the spark that made their previous articles so successful. These older articles were totally valid because Bethesda really dropped the ball and pissed everyone off, but when you’re a writer and have to cite your own older article just to make your current one be longer than 100 words, you’re not doing a good job. You’re just making it harder for a game that’s changed to bounce back, all because you’re seeking clicks, views, profit.

Youtube Is Putting Gaming News Websites In A Bad Place

Gamer Entitlement and Game Journalist have changed a lot in the past 5 years. Gamers are still reacting to the modern era of games as a service, where multiplayer games that keep people playing for years are the main profit drivers of the industry. Game Journalists are having a much harder time than the gamers because Youtube and Twitch are directly competing with them, and taking a much larger share of eyeballs when it comes to exposing consumers to games. Game Journalists used to be one of the most influential entities when it came to getting consumers excited about a product, but today they’re fighting a losing battle and have to look for new strategies to bring in views. While this the reporting of Fallout 76 controversy isn’t a new strategy, it’s still definitely one that works because people love to hate this game, and it guaranteed clicks.

It’s Much Better Three Months Later

It’s a good game and won’t melt your eyes or brain.

I play Fallout 76 casually and I’ve had a pretty good time in my near 24 hours of gameplay over the last month. The truth is that I’m a Fallout fan who enjoys MMO’s and that’s exactly what Fallout 76 really is; an MMO. I wrote this article because I want my friends to know that yes, Bethesda did release a dumpster fire, but at least they’ve committed to making it better and as far as I’m concerned, the game is perfectly playable and in an enjoyable state. I want you guys to know that a lot of the negative press about this game isn’t deserved and is purely driven by profit, or created by those who with insane levels of entitlement. If this game is available to you for $30, you should definitely pick it up because it’s fun in a  single or duo player environment, but really flourishes in a large group. This is the kind of game that can accommodate upwards of 15 friends or guildies together.

Bethesda, Keep On Trying

Todd Howard, the Face of Bethesda

Dear Bethesda,
Bethesda, you messed up and it’s gonna suck for a long time but I see the work you’ve done and while the game may not be perfect, it’s definitely worthy of the Fallout brand.
I’ve still got plenty of content left and I’m looking forward to just playing the game.

As you can probably tell by now, I strongly support this game and Bethesda’s commitment to fixing their mistake. I recommend purchasing it at the price of $40 using this affiliate link. It supports UpDownLeftDie and articles like this. Thank You.