The new premium subscription “Fallout 1st” has caused intense discussions in the community regarding Fallout 76. There were even reports from players claiming they are being targeted as subscribers. What is the truth behind it?
Here is the situation: Bethesda has introduced Fallout 1st, a premium subscription, which allows players to purchase advantages for Fallout 76.
The subscription costs €14.99 per month in Germany and offers options like the often-requested option for private servers.
The online community reacted angrily when the subscription was announced. In some cases, the response was already hostile.
Players found it outrageous that money is being charged for community requests, and a major shitstorm erupted.
It was claimed that bugs like disappearing items punish players for their purchase of Fallout 1st. Shortly after, more reports emerged from players who allegedly faced harassment after their purchase.
Players claim: They are being hunted
These are the players’ statements: In a reddit post with over 8,000 upvotes, a fan claims that buyers of Fallout 1st are deliberately targeted and harassed by non-buyers.
Other users even elaborate on this and claim they were beaten up and their bases destroyed. Particularly bizarre stories also surface:
I was beaten up when I did the Mothman emote in Vault 51. At least 5-7 people in teddy bear costumes attacked me.
KATheHuman on reddit
However, reports also come from the other side: Fallout 1st players supposedly band together and harass non-subscribers or secure larger areas with fences to isolate themselves.
A dedicated thread about these “rich people wanting to distance themselves from the poor” was even created, but it disappeared shortly after. The user turned out to be a troll who had previously attacked Fallout 1st elsewhere.
Gaming sites report on the class struggle in Fallout 76
This is the result: Such reports receive wide coverage in the media. It is discussed in the national and international press as “class struggle in Fallout 76”.
Poor (no subscription) and rich (with a subscription) are supposedly going at each other.
Criticism of the story
This is why the statement is doubted: Fans tend to overdramatize things they are passionate about, as the disproportionate shitstorm regarding Fallout 1st already demonstrates.
In this case, there is specific criticism of the story
- Since the PvP mode has been abolished, players can no longer easily kill other players or destroy bases
- PcMastahRace writes that he and six friends purchased Fallout 1st, but other players only asked them about the skins – no harassment
- FillionMyMind writes that this all sounds fabricated. He is outraged that a post with so little effort receives such attention
- The author of the post provides neither sources nor specific events, which leads users to doubt
- The post about the “gated communities” of the rich was clearly exposed as a fake to stir up sentiment
Indeed, the story about the teddy bears is, in our assessment, the most credible. However, in the lobby of Vault 51 – the Battle Royale – everyone fights each other. People get bored and start brawling, as players of Fallout 76 know.
It is quite possible that bears harassed the concerned player. However, the Mothman emote did not necessarily have to be the trigger.
What is the truth behind it?
This is the mood in the community: Although actual attacks are unlikely and certainly do not occur on the suggested scale, the community is tense – because of Fallout 1st.
Players are arguing about why the subscription model should be justified.
In a further thread, user Brokeng3ars explains that no one is jealous of the subscription owners. The subscription is only bad for the game.
- Buyers would send a negative signal if they accepted a proposal deemed outrageous by critics.
- The buyers, on the other hand, see no problem in paying for a service they want to use.
Clearly, Fallout 1st is currently stirring the emotions of many fans. However, it is not a “class struggle between rich and poor”, and also the harassment in the game at this scale sounds rather constructed.
