You know, sometimes I want to just jump online when I wake up and hear something good about Bethesda Studios’ live service game, Fallout 76 … but that never seems to be in the cards. From launch, the game has been a very broken mess, and every attempt to patch it undoes any previous patch that was already there. The most recent issue that happened was the introduction to Fallout 1st. What was supposed to have private servers and an unlimited stash box, ultimately wasn’t what was promised. But now, Fallout 76 has a new problem, and it’s not with the game this time … it’s with Bethesda Studios’ own customer support service.
It has come to my attention that as of last week, players that have been good samaritans and are doing their best to help Bethesda find these bugs and exploits are getting banned from the game — for exactly that.
One user in particular was banned from the game, and Bethesda is refusing to refund him his 1st membership as well. This user created and ran Map76.com and if you go to his website, you can see everything he said … but I will paraphrase it here:
“I am in a group of data miners that mine the game and who find and report exploits and bugs. An exploit was leaked about a month ago on an obscure forum. We discovered it, tested to make sure it was real, and reported it directly to the community managers. The accounts that we used to verify the exploit were promptly banned. We have been contacting support explaining that we are the ones who discovered and reported it but have not gotten a response. This has been going on for weeks now.”
“I tried to cancel and get a refund for my Fallout 1st membership because it is not what was promised, from stash boxes losing junk, private worlds not being private at all, the Survival tent randomly disappearing, and none of the promised Atom shop discounts. So far, they are just ignoring my requests.”
He goes on to say that he finally heard a response, but they said they wouldn’t be refunding him because he spent some atoms, but after the news hit the Customer Support Management Team, he got his refund … but how they said it worries me.
“Greetings,
Brian here again with Bethesda Customer Support.
Thank you for your follow up reply and please note that I have spoken to our management team on your behalf. With this in mind we have made an exception processed the refund for your purchase of Fallout 1st.
Please note that it can take up to 10 business days for the funds to appear in the correct account. If you have questions concerning the length of time for your refund, we recommend contacting your financial institution for more information on the process.
As always please let us know if you have any other questions, issues or concerns and we will make sure that you are taken care of.
Warm regards,
Brian
Bethesda Customer Support”
The “we have made an exception” part is troubling to me because when a product doesn’t live up to what is promised, you are supposed to get a refund. It seems Bethesda just doesn’t want to do that. On top of that, that user is still banned. Now, he isn’t the only one being banned as others are being banned as well, from even finding an exploit in their password system.
Bethesda Studios banning these people creates a bad image for viewers and gamers alike. Everything that they have done involving this game has sent a negative message and if they don’t stop, this will affect their chances of selling their next game (or games) to consumers. Hopefully, they will realize it before it’s too late … but then again, it may already be.
