A law firm is currently investigating a potential class action lawsuit against Bethesda for denying gamers refunds of Fallout 76. After a video went viral of a man tearing up a GameStop store after he was denied a refund, many other people began reporting their inability to get refunds for Fallout 76 no matter how or where they purchased the game from.

Migliaccio & Rathod LLP made a brief post on their website indicating that they were investigating Bethesda Game Studios for deceptive trade practices. Specifically, they were investigating the PC version of the game, where Bethesda has allegedly been denying gamers refunds, writing…

“Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is currently investigating Bethesda Game Studios for releasing a heavily-glitched game, Fallout 76, and refusing to issue refunds for PC purchasers of the game who found it to be unplayable because of its technical problems. While minor bugs and glitches are expected with the release of most new games, Fallout 76 launched with a 56GB patch that has proven to be but a starting point for the game’s problems. Gamers who have tried to receive a refund because of the game’s myriad glitches have been unable to do so since they downloaded the game, leaving them to deal with an unplayable experience until patches bring it back to a playable state.”

Various gamers have assumed that this is the reason why Bethesda skipped out on launching the game on Steam because they would be forced to comply with issuing refunds to PC gamers who played for less than two hours or anyone who had the game for less than two weeks.

According to the Spiel Times, they noted that various gamers have been attempting to get refunds since the launch of the game, and despite being told via e-mail that they could get refunds, Bethesda has allegedly been denying them refunds, citing their return policy.

If you visit the Bethesda website regarding their return policy, there’s a section at the bottom relating to digital codes that states…

“Digital Codes and opened CDs and DVDs cannot be returned under any circumstance. No exceptions to this policy unless where prohibited by law.

 

“Please be very careful when purchasing video games at the Bethesda Store.”

What’s interesting is that in Australia that line actually is prohibited by law. In fact, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission originally sued Valve back in 2014 for denying gamers a right to refunds, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. This is what eventually led to Valve being forced to add a refund policy to Steam.

It appears as if Bethesda could end up facing the exact same situation if the company continues to deny gamers a right to a refund.

(Thanks for the news tip Quickshooter)