Bethesda originally advertised a “canvas West Tek duffel bag” as one of the items that would come with the $199.99 Power Armor Edition of Fallout 76, but fans were surprised by the quality of the item that ended up shipping with the final product.
“Basically people who bought the collector’s edition were given a cheap nylon bag to house the Power Armor helmet that doesn’t match the product description or the image of a ‘West Tek canvas carrying bag,’” an individual wrote on Reddit. “In the product listing to this day, it still says it’s a canvas bag and it even looks completely different to what was delivered.”
This is how the package, including the bag, was originally advertised:
This is an image of the nylon bag that was shipped:
Here’s another comparison shot from Twitter:
@Fallout @Bethesda_ANZ @bethesda @DCDeacon is there any reason why we got a thin nylon bag instead of the canvas bag that was originally advertised? pic.twitter.com/oURZak2AEC
— Scotty (@ScottyDontTwit) November 19, 2018
We checked our own bag from our Power Armor edition and yep, it’s nylon — and also pretty flimsy.
The official wording on Bethesda’s page has been adjusted to state that the bag is nylon, although the listing still includes the image that states the bag is canvas.
Players are also reporting that company response to this switcheroo has been less than friendly. “We are sorry that you aren’t happy with the bag,” Bethesda support reportedly told another fan. “The bag shown in the media was a prototype and was too expensive to make.”
We reached out to Bethesda for comment.
“We’re investigating the response from the Bethesda Gear Store Support team and we apologize to the customer who took the time to reach out,” Bethesda told Polygon in a statement. “The support response was incorrect and not in accordance with our conduct policy. Unfortunately, due to unavailability of materials, we had to switch to a nylon carrying case in the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition. We hope this doesn’t prevent anyone from enjoying what we feel is one of our best collector’s editions.”
Update (Nov. 28): Bethesda is now offering 500 Atoms, Fallout 76’s virtual currency, worth around $5, to players impacted by this switch.
We understand and respect that there is disappointment with the bag in the Power Armor Edition. We are sorry. Please contact Bethesda Support to provide proof of your CE purchase. They will assist in granting your account 500 Atoms.
— Fallout (@Fallout) November 29, 2018
Please visit: https://t.co/TJBMjYaph0
Update 2 (Dec. 3): It now sounds like Bethesda will be manufacturing replacement bags for owners of this version of the game. Players have until Jan. 31, 2019, to request a replacement, actually canvas bag.
We are finalizing manufacturing plans for replacement canvas bags for the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition. If you purchased the CE, please visit https://t.co/S5ClEZuQrx and submit a ticket by Jan. 31, 2019. We’ll arrange to send you a replacement as soon as the bags are ready.
— Bethesda Support (@BethesdaSupport) December 3, 2018