During a Fallout 76 portion of Bethesda’s PAX East panel, Todd Howard, the game’s director, told the story of a letter he received from one player that was particularly unhappy with the unrealistic representation of bobby pins within the game. The unnamed player sent a box of bobby pins to Howard, with a letter that simply read “weigh these.” While the letter and “gift” were likely meant to insult, Howard seems to have appreciated the gesture, stating that it’s the most “creative” letter he had ever received - apparently surpassing the gamer that pre-ordered Fallout 4 with bottle caps.
Fallout 76 has improved over the course of the past few months, but the damage to Bethesda’s reputation has seemingly been done. Even Todd Howard has admitted that Fallout 76’s launch was bumpy, though that is a bit of an understatement considering the sheer amount of problems the game has faced. Bethesda has a long way to go before they win back fans burnt by the game, but with an impressive line up of titles and new IP in the next few years, they very well may be able to do so.
While Fallout 76 itself might not be salvageable as far as public sentiment is concerned, that doesn’t mean that Bethesda isn’t trying. The company has regularly updated the game since release and recently laid out the Wild Appalachia DLC season roadmap for 2019, so at least dedicated fans have something to look forward to in the future. It’s certainly a difficult time to be a Fallout fan, but at least the other games are still available to replay for those really upset by 76.
Fallout 76 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
