One unfortunate side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is that folks are cleaning out real-world stores as they buy carloads of toilet paper in sheer panic. While there’s actually little chance of the United States running out TP, it seems that players residing in a fictional version of the country are using this as an opportunity to parody recent misguided shopping sprees.
Like many Bethesda games, Fallout 76 is full of junk that you can carry or break down into resources to craft or repair items. Some junk is definitely more valuable than others, but prior to 2020, there wasn’t a real reason to consider toilet paper rare or expensive.
The result is that now, many players are either obsessively collecting any toilet paper they find, or they’re jacking up the prices at their individual stores. It’s all clearly a joke, but one that has an actual effect on the economy of the game, as more and more people start price-matching or taking all the rolls they can find. Some are even displaying their caches proudly in their player-made camps, as if it were treasure.
Don’t worry my camp still has got toilet paper #fallout76 pic.twitter.com/gQ0ApsYKkp
— GRAZ( ) (@GrazCore) March 15, 2020
meanwhile, in fallout 76 pic.twitter.com/j1ZLHyYn40
— Patricia Hernandez (@xpatriciah) March 18, 2020
Toilet paper is even expensive and in high demand in #Fallout76. pic.twitter.com/mZUp2zx0S2
— christopher (@crizzonet) March 18, 2020
It's official @Fallout 76 people are hoarding toilet paper in their camps in the wake of #COVID19. (This is not my camp I stumbled acrossed it. pic.twitter.com/PqATtYPFQS
— Stix Selvain (@Stix_Selvain) March 17, 2020
I control the toilet paper. I OWN this town!! #Fallout76 #f76onebyone #Covoid19 pic.twitter.com/Olt7qYoW3s
— BloodfartAUS (@BLOODFARTaus) March 14, 2020
The toilet paper insanity has spilled over into Fallout 76. pic.twitter.com/3IxKb95J6I
— IntrepidYeen (@Yote2Yena) March 14, 2020
Be safe! #Fallout76 #CoronaVirus #ToiletPaper @Fallout #PS4share pic.twitter.com/8bODWRKwNE
— OlderGamers☠️ (@OlderGamers) March 14, 2020
I'm hoarding all the toilet paper I can find in Fallout 76. If you're interested in getting some, come find me in game. Tag is Stowaway95.#Fallout76 #coronapocalypse #coronavirus @Fallout #QuarantineAndChill
— Andrew Stow (@andrew_stow) March 14, 2020
I liked Fallout when we used bottlecaps as currency. Toilet paper sucks.#coronapocalypse #Fallout #Fallout76 #Fallout4 #CoronaOutbreak #CoronavirusPandemic pic.twitter.com/nVpBoqJeE5
— Tyler the Manatee (@TyDye501st) March 13, 2020
Someone’s got 2 rolls of toilet paper in their vending machine for an obscenely large amount of caps in this Fallout 76 server. Well played.
— employee of the bearimy (@krystyn) March 13, 2020
Fortunately, however, Fallout 76 can never truly run out of toilet paper — the world will just keep generating more. Plus, in this video game, sometimes it’s actually beneficial for characters to get sick, with some players going out of their way to contract illnesses.