Fallout 76 is taking hackers back to school by giving suspected cheaters a chance to get their banned account back if they write an essay on why cheating is bad.
Bethesda’s games are known to be some of the most versatile games in existence in terms of modding. Even for games that are nearly a decade old still get occasional mods popping up in the community (read: Skyrim). But they don’t take kindly to third-party programs that are ruining their newest online game, Fallout 76.
Given that the game doesn’t yet have mod support (at least on consoles) and it’s an online game, player fairness needs to be enforced at all times. That’s why a recent ban wave has been completed and banned many players who were suspected or confirmed of using cheating hacks.
This was noticed by online creator JuiceHead (video attached below) who has witnessed reports that users were banned from Fallout 76 due to third-party software. Their account gets disabled and they’re sent the following message from Bethesda:
This account has violated the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service by cheating. The account was detected to be running a third-party application, which provides an unfair in-game advantage, while logged into Fallout 76. […] The use of this type of application is not permitted under any circumstances, nor for any reason. As a result, we regret to inform you that this account has been permanently disabled and will no longer be eligible to participate in any ZeniMax Online services.
Users who got banned can repeal their account by doing something no one would expect. Bethesda wants them to write an essay on why cheating software can be “detrimental to an online game community” and it needs to be reviewed by their management team. They’re taking it old school.
If you would like to appeal this account closure, we would be willing to accept an essay on “why the use of third-party cheat software is detrimental to an online game community”, for our management team to review.
Some people agree, and some people don’t. Whether they do or not, it seems like a reasonable approach. They need to go through a period of some suffering and painful essay writing before they get their account back. This way, they know some of the cons of hacking an online game. Or they’ll just copy/paste a generic essay from a Google search.
Regardless, some of the players who were banned state that they were not cheating, but rather forgot to shut down third-party software with other games they play. Some say they were using the ominous Cheat Engine for non-cheating purposes. While it’s third-party, it may not have been used to cheat.
Bethesda hasn’t come out with a statement yet regarding what will ban a player’s account. So we’ll have to wait for more clear communication from them and it’s probably best to shut down any third-party tools you may have run before jumping into a world. Or be prepared to be taken back to middle school.
Fallout 76 has received a lot of criticism for its bugs and missing content, but Bethesda has been pushing out a lot of content recently and has claimed some positive praise for doing so. They’re turning the tides- slowly.
The game is currently available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. You can pick up a copy on Amazon.
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Writer and journalist for almost a year. Doing this for fun. Learned a lot along the way. I’m interested in businesses and the moves they make, tech and how it changes the world, and of course, enjoy playing some video games! I enjoy console and PC, but mostly RPGs, FPS, and League of Legends.