As is par for the course when it comes to games and microtransactions, yet another game has earned the ire of gamers and Fallout fans with a new round of controversy.
Fallout 76 players on Reddit have been making their feelings on the state of the game very clear. the glut of responses being shared across social media have been pretty clear, and almost entirely negative. With the already massive amount of negative backlash affecting sales of the game, Bethesda started offering Fallout 76 at heavily discounted prices. Predictably, this angered many gamers who had bought the game at full price, and it also created a feedback loop of negative responses, making it seem like Bethesda was admitting to the low quality of the overall game.
The primary issue this time around centers around the pricing structure of the microtransactions in-game. A currency called Atoms, which can be bought for real-world currency, can be used by Fallout 76 players to purchase in-game assets and cosmetic items. And given the highly customizable nature with the in-game C.A.M.P. system, this seemed like a good idea. However, given the constant issues this game has been facing, a new problem has been uncovered.
People appear to be really perplexed as to how Bethesda can justify charging such high prices for various items in Fallout 76. The pricing structure is extremely varied, and appears to be very controversial.
For example, some users are pointing to bundles of Emojis being “discounted” from 2400 Atoms to 1200 during the ongoing Christmas sale as one particularly egregious example of being fleeced in terms of pricing. It’s also yet another example of Bethesda repurposing assets to push out more content in Fallout 76. First it was in-game assets from the likes of Skyrim, now it’s animations for emojis.
OMG @BethesdaStudios .WTF? #Fallout76 .1) you need to have had the item for sale first before you just lie about it being discounted. 2) this reuses character animations from other emotes so you’re paying for a little overhead icon only. 3) it’s fucking Xmas, gift this for free. pic.twitter.com/HDZHUI1deU
— Kikki Kasumi (@FalloutGirl____) December 16, 2018
Some users have begun pointing out that these prices may have been inflated to cover the lost revenue from some users who received 500 free Atoms earlier in the month.
This isn’t even the first time that the microtransaction system for Fallout 76 has stirred some backlash. Back when the game originally launched, gamers who had spent $199 on a special edition of the game, originally billed to include a branded canvas bag and other rewards, actually included a much cheaper nylon bag when shipped. The resulting blowback was labeled as false advertising by many, resulting in Bethesda attempting to assuage gamers by offering 500 Atoms to those who submitted proof of purchasing the affected special edition. For context, this amounts to around $5 USD worth of microtransactions, which can only be used to purchase a couple of small and mostly pointless in-game items.
Fallout 76 is out for PC, Xbox One and PS4, if you still want it for some reason.
