Fallout 76 buyers in Australia will be offered refunds from Bethesda's parent company
The ACCC ruled ZeniMax "misled" consumers
In Australia, it seems the collective woes cried by Fallout 76 players have reached a point that companies are being forced to offer refunds to affected buyers. The Australian Competition and Commission (ACCC) agency says Bethesda Softworks' parent company, ZeniMax Media, misled consumers when they denied them the right to a refund based on numerous technical and performance faults.
"ZeniMax has acknowledged that they are likely to have misled certain Australian consumers about their rights to a refund when they experienced faults with their Fallout 76 game," ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
According to the media release, the ACCC had been hearing complaints from Fallout 76 players experiencing "problems with the servers, lagging, graphic and visual problems" that ZeniMax had been denying refunds on the basis that buyers weren't "entitled."
"When a consumer buys a product it comes with automatic consumer guarantees, and retailers must ensure their refunds and returns policies do not misrepresent what the Australian Consumer Law provides," Ms Court said.
Accordingly, the ACCC has ordered ZeniMax to offer refunds to Fallout 76 buyers in Australia who had requested refunds but hadn't received them, between November 24, 2018 and June 1, 2019. Consumers who accept the refund will lose access to Fallout 76.
Unfortunately, performance and server problems aren't the only issues plaguing Fallout 76 players. Some members of the community are so stricken with outrage over the paid Fallout 1st subscription that they're harassing Fallout 76 players who've chosen to pay for the service.
While clearly some aren't satisfied with Fallout 76, others continue to enjoy it. For those folks, check out our essential Fallout 76 tips.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.