Fallout 76 is your fault.

Usually I'd like to make a long blog to ramble about something like this, but I'm just tired of giving Bethesda attention. Fallout 76 has released to such vicious blow-back that a law firm is getting involved to decide if the game is a scam. I don't honestly believe the fault is with Bethesda, though; no, Todd's just doing what he's been conditioned to believe is best for the consumer. Joke all you want about how Skyrim is on every console, hell, even I bought the Switch port, but the consumer is the one pushing for this kind of treatment. For my part, I skipped the last generation ports as well as the "Special Edition" remaster simply out of the virtue that Bethesda deserves as little money as possible, but even in this glass house I need to throw a few stones over this mess.

Take the Obsidian debacle, for instance. Nobody talks about New Vegas much for some reason, and some websites skip over it when referring to the series as a whole, but that might be because Bethesda played dirty and screwed Obsidian over for cheap labor. Don't feel bad if you haven't heard this story before, because it certainly didn't circulate over the normal channels. In essence, Bethesda not only forced Obsidian to develop the entire game, including bug testing, in only eighteen months, but also kept them from receiving bonuses under the pretense that they needed to earn an 85 Metacritic score. Most platforms the game received an 84, and in many of the negative reviews you'll note that points were docked because of the game's performance. Poor performance, you may realize, was caused by Bethesda's Frankenstein game engine and Obsidian's insane deadlines.

Bethesda bought the Fallout franchise from Obsidian, dangled it over their heads like a carrot, then shoved them in a locker when they got what they wanted. Bethesda took Obsidian's hard work to the bank, and nobody batted an eye. For me, though, this was the moment I gave up on the studio. Okay, yeah, I bought that Skyrim port, but you know what? I accept that I was part of the problem.

But Fallout 76? That's on you. It's on you for criticizing criticizing Jeff Gerstmann for rightfully pointing out Bethesda's laziness on Fallout 4. It's on the game journalists for not doing their job and putting pressure on Bethesda for their treatment on Obsidian. It's on the mongoloid press for clapping their hands at Bethesda's mediocrity. Is Bethesda to blame for reusing a busted old engine from 2002? Of course. But if you want creators to improve, you have to vote with your wallet. I promise you, if the studio doesn't learn from this fiasco then Starfield and, later, Elder Scrolls VI will absolutely be just as pathetic as Fallout 76. And you can bet they'll point to sales figures as the first justifiable excuse for their half-assed attempt. Just stop giving them money. Just stop buying every shiny new thing without doing any research. Save your money. Please just stop.