The rumor itself began via a dubious source. A YouTuber by the name of The Quartering, whose most recent videos include “SJW’s Vs Anime,” “Ghostbusters 3 Is TRUMPS FAULT!” and “Mortal Kombat 11 Brings SJW Tears,” released a video claiming that a distributor had issued a recall for copies of Fallout 76 from EB Games. They then go to several online retailers to see whether they have copies of Fallout 76 in-stock. No other sources have been provided.
Given Fallout 76’s relatively negative reception, particularly among more vocal and controversial groups online, news and rumors that portray the game in a critical light tend to spread somewhat virally. As such, it’s not surprising for Bethesda to downplay or otherwise ignore such unsubstantiated rumors despite how widespread they may be.
Rumor or otherwise, Fallout 76’s future remains unclear. The game’s sales certainly didn’t live up to its predecessor, Fallout 4, and it has seen heavy discounts in retail in the months since it launched. Still, it’s difficult to say whether Bethesda still considers it reasonably successful given the game’s microtransaction sales numbers will never be shared publicly. Bethesda may be content with the game as it stands. Alternatively, Bethesda may be disappointed with the game and future development could be minimized if not ended.
What’s clear, however, is that ambiguous news about retailer supply of Fallout 76 copies are completely unreliable. A game that’s not selling well at retail is naturally not going to be constantly stocked in full. Retailers with excess stock of game copies that aren’t selling routinely ship them back to distributors. And further, Bethesda would not make a statement regarding the veracity of the rumor unless it was confident in what was said. Fallout 76 may go free-to-play eventually, but not yet.
Fallout 76 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
