Some Fallout 76 players in Australia who requested refunds due to the multitude of issues that plagued the game will be able to receive them.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) accepted an acknowledgment from ZeniMax, the parent company of developer Bethesda, that it likely “misled consumers” over their rights regarding Fallout 76.
Some players who purchased Fallout 76 complained to the ACCC after ZeniMax representatives told them that they were not entitled to refunds after the game’s launch. The latest entry in the Fallout franchise suffered from various bugs that hindered gameplay, in addition to lagging servers and visual problems.
With the ACCC’s ruling, ZeniMax will now provide refunds to Fallout 76 players who requested a refund between November 24, 2018, and June 1, 2019. Players who follow through with obtaining the refund will, of course, lose access to the game.
“When a consumer has purchased a product that has a fault which amounts to a major failure, the Australian Consumer Law provides them with the right to ask for their choice of either a repair, replacement or refund,” the ACCC said in a statement.
In relation to the refunds, ZeniMax will amend its customer service documents and scripts so that the issue will not repeat itself, in case a future game will draw a rash of refund requests like Fallout 76.
Examples of issues that players faced during the early days of Fallout 76 include triple nuke strikes causing a server to crash and accidental in-game immortality. There were even problems in the real world, as players who pre-ordered the game’s $200 Power Armor Edition caused an uproar after a promised military-style canvas bag was switched out for a cheaper nylon bag.
Refunds are different in the United States, as they follow the seller’s policies. Online purchased made through the online stores for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One do not offer refunds for purchases, while Steam and the Epic Games Store allow refunds under certain conditions.
Bethesda has since been trying to win back players to Fallout 76, with plans such as a public test server that will roll out in 2020 to help prevent technical glitches. Whatever goodwill the developer has created in improving the game, however, may have been lost again with the $100-per-year Fallout 1st subscription plan.
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