Bethesda’s online game Fallout 76 has been criticized since its announcement, especially heavily since its release. What went wrong? Our author Andreas says: Fallout 76 has made a critical mistake.
Is Fallout 76 really bad or is this just the frustration of disappointed Fallout fans who expected something different? Is perhaps Bethesda itself to blame for the whole mess?
An online game from a single-player studio
Why was even the announcement criticized? Bethesda is known for single-player games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4. Although there exists an MMORPG based on a Bethesda franchise, The Elder Scrolls Online, this was developed by Zenimax Online.
When Fallout 76 was announced at E3 2018, it raised some eyebrows because a studio known for single-player stories was now making an online game.
Moreover, Bethesda had chosen the Fallout series to enter the online gaming market.
Fallout is known for:
- Stories about the lone wanderer
- The feeling of loneliness in the post-apocalyptic world
- Diverse and multi-layered quests
- Interesting NPCs
- A dark scenario supported by the quests, stories, and NPCs
Now establishing an online game in the Fallout universe, loved by single-player fans, is extremely difficult. It was to be expected that a “Fallout Online” would be criticized. Marketing was therefore crucial. But it was at this point that Bethesda made a major mistake.
Bethesda wants to reach everyone
What mistake did Bethesda make? Bethesda is a studio known for successfully launching games.
- The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim sold 3.4 million copies within the first two days (Via vgchartz), in 2016 it sold 30 million copies
- Fallout 4 shipped 12 million units on the first day (via GameSpot)
- Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR landed directly in the Steam bestseller list for virtual reality games (via Steam)
For Fallout 76, Bethesda expected similar results. But how do you reach the broadest possible audience with an online game with such a large fan base that actually expects another single-player game and can celebrate great successes with high sales numbers in the early days?
Bethesda wavered for a long time. There was no clear statement about what Fallout 76 should be.
- Fallout 76 was essentially supposed to be an online game
- It was also said that even single-player fans could have fun
- Although there would be no NPCs in Fallout 76, there would still be quests with a story
- Open PvP for Fallout 76 was announced, but with heavy penalties for “griefers” and significant restrictions
- While survival elements were supposed to play a role, they weren’t really important
Again and again, Bethesda gave the impression that they were apologizing for the game in advance. The lack of a clear statement about the nature of the game suggested that Bethesda wanted to appeal to everyone but not alienate anyone.
Fallout fans were supposed to get what they expect, but they also wanted to create something new for a wider audience.
The marketing backfired
What is Fallout 76 now? After release, it became clear that Fallout 76 is essentially “Fallout Online”. An online spin-off where the focus is on multiplayer elements. Group play is the priority.
Particularly single-player fans, who expected something like “Fallout 4.5 with friends” from Bethesda’s statements, are disappointed. It is not only the players who express disappointment, but also the press is saying (via GameStar), that it is precisely the story aspect and the quests that disappoint in Fallout 76.
The fact that there are no NPCs and they have been “replaced” by audio recordings leads to a Fallout that plays and feels different from previous installments. Because NPCs were indeed an important factor in the games. And they are now missing.
Furthermore, similar quests without real story highlights and the absence of decisions during the story have been criticized. These are the things that single-player fans value highly.
As a result, Fallout 76 doesn’t really target single-player fans or at least only to a very minor extent. The entire single-player aspect feels tacked on.
Who is the game aimed at then? Fallout 76 is an online game that marks Bethesda’s entry into the realm of Games as a Service. Accordingly, fans of online games are the primary target audience. And they do not find the game bad at all. On the contrary, they express positive sentiments towards it.
Especially those who enjoy survival games and previously had no connection to Fallout can get excited about Bethesda’s game. And this shows what Fallout 76 is and who it is aimed at: a new audience of online/survival players.
This is also evident in the community ratings on Mein-MMO.de. On a site that primarily caters to online fans, relatively high ratings are given.
A clear statement would have been important: To somewhat mitigate the shitstorm and the many negative ratings on Metacritic, it would have been necessary to make a clear statement about what Fallout 76 really is. Players want to know what they are getting into and what they should invest their money and time in.
By this “waffling” Bethesda has not done itself any favors. Because now, after launch, it is clear what kind of game Fallout 76 is. Single-player fans who felt attracted feel fooled. And they are expressing this frustration by heavily criticizing the game online.
A rescue plan is needed
Can Bethesda still save Fallout 76? When filtering out the positive voices from the community, it seems that Fallout 76 is a good online/survival game with potential.
And this is exactly what Bethesda should focus on now. It is rather unlikely that single-player fans will calm down so much that they will come to appreciate Fallout 76.
Therefore, Bethesda should focus on the following:
- Enhancing the online aspect and group play
- More group events
- More PvE group content
- Fewer or no quests for solo players
- Further development of the survival aspect
- Faction PvP
- More options for base building in a group
This is how Bethesda should react: Bethesda should move away from trying to appeal to single-player fans with Fallout 76. Because they expect something completely different.
Insisting that single-player fans can also enjoy the online game would likely be the wrong approach. Because Fallout 76 shows that it cannot reach the level of quests and story that the single-player titles in the series do.
Bethesda needs to focus on the players who enjoy Fallout 76 and offer new content for them. Then the title can exist as a spin-off alongside the main series and potentially be successful.
Furthermore, Bethesda should now also recognize how important single-player titles are to fans and truly focus on that aspect in upcoming games like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, without online experiments. Such a marketing mistake will surely not be forgiven by fans a second time.
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