Bethesda’s Pete Hines compares the situation surrounding Fallout 76 to the release of The Elder Scrolls Online, stating that there is no other choice but to keep going.
Why is Fallout 76 a challenge for Bethesda? The online game is the first title in many years that was not well received by critics or players at launch. It faced criticism and the reviews were far from good.
After hits like The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, TES 4: Oblivion, Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, and Fallout 4, Bethesda finds itself in an unfamiliar situation and must now deal with it.
Bethesda is not giving up
What does Bethesda have to say about this? Pete Hines, Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications, explains that there is simply no other way for Bethesda than to continue with Fallout 76. It’s just in the DNA of the developers. It also comes with a sense of pride. Pride in showing players that Bethesda can still make a really good game out of Fallout 76.
However, he also admits that Fallout 76 was plagued by problems at launch. Problems that the developers might have been able to foresee. Nevertheless, everyone on the team has always believed in the game and what it could become.
This is how Hines responds to the criticism: Of course, the echo from players does not just pass Bethesda by, but Pete Hines says that it all sounds familiar to him. The situation reminds him of the release of The Elder Scrolls Online:
Some people on my team – myself included – said: “I have seen this movie before.” We publish something on social media and see all the comments about how no one is playing this game and that we should stop talking about it. I heard all of that when The Elder Scrolls Online launched.
And we have seen what has become of The Elder Scrolls Online.
Fallout 76 is being developed further
What does this mean for Fallout 76? Bethesda will not simply give up the game. It’s not in the nature of the studio. The ambition of the developers has been ignited and they now want to show what Fallout 76 can be.
Furthermore, Bethesda has already experienced that a game criticized on social media can still become a hit. If it worked out for The Elder Scrolls Online, it can work for Fallout 76 as well.
We will hear a lot more from Fallout 76 in the future. And perhaps it will experience a resurgence similar to that of ESO.
