Facepalm: It just keeps getting worse for Fallout 76. After a barrage of bad reviews, terrible press, and poor PR decisions by Bethesda, retailers overseas are once again trying to offload the game by combining it with low-priced products. This time, Polish retailer X-Kom recently gave away copies of the game with the purchase of a $5 PS4 thumbstick.
It seems that in Europe you can get a copy of Fallout 76 with a purchase of just about anything. First, retailers in Germany were giving away the game with the purchase of used Playstation 4 controllers. Not to be outdone, Polish retailers were recently giving away copies of Fallout 76 when buying a $5 PS4 thumbstick.
Polish retailer X-Kom's overstock of these sweet thumbsticks was a Polish gamer's gain. For less than the cost of a cheap nylon bag, you could own a copy of the most maligned game in recent memory.
Unfortunately for anyone visiting Poland, this deal has officially ended as X-Kom burned through its supply of the thumbsticks. In fairness, X-Kom's website notes that it only sold 10 pieces so perhaps this was more of a PR play than anything else.
Fallout 76 has been a PR nightmare since launch, with Bethesda seemingly dropping the ball at every turn. The game's botched launch has been compared to Aliens: Colonial Marines and No Man's Sky, which doesn't exactly put it in great company. After the game was ripped to shreds by critics, Bethesda tried to sneak a low-quality bag into its $200 Power Armor edition of the game. Things got so bad that lawyers began to investigate Bethesda for "deceptive trade practices."
In fairness to Bethesda, they have been consistently releasing patches for the game, including one being released today. Bethesda seemingly remains committed to the future of Fallout 76 and could still reverse the game's fate now that they've weathered the storm.