Bethesda Responds To The Fallout 76 Nylon Bag Controversy

It’s unfortunate, but it’s fair to say that Fallout 76 is a game that has arrived into our lives with no small amount of controversy, and that controversy has managed to extend beyond the actual game itself. 

If you’re not aware of the Fallout 76 Collector’s Edition kerfuffle (as I’ve taken to calling it), here’s a little refresher: Bethesda advertised a durable, military grade canvas bag as part of the $200 set, and gamers were instead sent much cheaper looking bags made from Nylon. Ouch.

This is what was promised:

And below is what people were sent:

Fans were, understandably, pretty cheesed off. While you can certainly argue that Bethesda were always upfront regarding what Fallout 76 itself would be, advertising a bag made out of canvas and delivering one made from Nylon is straight up false advertising.

Bethesda’s initial response was unfortunately pretty tone deaf. Instead of promising to address what was a pretty serious problem, they simply apologised, cited a “lack of materials” for the switch to nylon, and offered any customers affected 500 atoms – the in-game currency of Fallout 76.

As it turns out, 500 atoms doesn’t actually get you very much at all in Fallout 76, so that didn’t do much to win customers over.

Now, in an attempt to right this sizeable wrong, Bethesda has decide send customers the proper canvas bag, as was originally advertised. This obviously raises questions about the previously mentioned “lack of materials:, however.

Did Bethesda just find some old canvas lying around? Did they perhaps think they could manufacture the bags more cheaply and people would either not mind or not notice?

Whatever the case, any customer affected can reach out to Bethesda before January 31 and they’ll sort you out a replacement bag as soon as they’re ready.

It takes a lot to admit when you’re wrong. Especially when doing so involves manufacturing and shipping thousands of canvas bags to various people around the world.