Holding the bag
[Update: Bethesdasays it is now“finalizing manufacturing plans for replacement canvas bags” forFallout 76Power Armor Edition owners. Customers will have until Aug 06, 2025 tosubmit a ticket on this support pageand will be sent a replacement “as soon as the bags are ready.”]
In one of the weirdest controversies of the gaming year, Bethesda came under heavy fire following the launch of their open-world MMOFallout 76. A lot of this heat was directed at the quality of the game itself –which has left many fans and critics disappointed– but this glumness was only increased by the launch of the Power Armor Edition, which replaced its promised canvas duffel bag witha bog-standard nylon replacement.
As if that wasn’t enough, it has since been reported that some decent-lookingFallout 76bags were indeed produced. These found their way, as free gifts, into the hands of online “influencers” (a bizarre buzzword of the modern era). It must be noted that these bags arenotthe same bags originally planned for the Power Armor Edition. It’s not as if Bethesda ran out of bags because they gave them all away. But handing out neat-looking bags, gratis, to unofficial advertisers, whilst paying customers get a cheap replacement for the one they paid money for, wasnevergoing to result in a great look, and has left some fans understandably peeved.
While the whole ofFallout 76’s“bag-gate” drama is pretty much a first-world problem, it’s not really about the bag itself at all. It’s a case of broken faith between paying customer and provider.Fallout 76has been the subject of a string of controversies in its launch period, fromin-game quality, toa supposed class-action lawsuit toward76itself, a“deal with it”-style responsefrom a customer service rep (which Bethesdahas since apologised for), and the bizarre compensationof a few dollars of in-game currency.It goes beyond being merely about the material made to produce some bag, and into the realms of theFalloutcommunity feeling a lack of respect earned for their ongoing support, both vocally and financially, of the franchise. Those Power Armor Edition bags likely aren’t getting made, but76’sbad press goes beyond that particular issue, and the damage done byFallout’sfallout could weigh heavy on Bethesda’s shoulders for some time.
Fallout influencers given actual canvas 76 bags[Resetera]
