Pete Hines, the former long-serving Head of Marketing and Publishing at Bethesda, who retired after Microsoft acquired its parent company ZeniMax, recently shared in an interview what he considers “the dumbest thing” he ever did during his tenure.
Many will recall that the $200 Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition was advertised to include a canvas West Tek bag. Yet, customers received a cheaper nylon bag instead. While Bethesda eventually rectified the situation for affected players, this incident clearly had a lasting impact on Hines.
Speaking to dbltap, Hines clarified that the Power Armor Edition he approved did not initially include a canvas bag. He explained that someone within the company, aiming to “add more value” to the premium set, made this change. Hines, while admitting to occasional outbursts, acknowledged that their “hearts were in the right place.” The issue stemmed from a “literal canvas shortage” at the time, which led “some folks” to substitute it with a nylon bag.
“My greatest failure there,” Hines reflected, “was not immediately pushing for the production and delivery of a canvas bag to everyone who wanted one. I was still annoyed that the item was included in the first place without my knowledge, and then the canvas shortage happened. It`s probably the dumbest thing I ever did at Bethesda.”
Initially, Bethesda offered 500 Atoms in Fallout 76 as compensation, an amount equivalent to only $5, which drew heavy criticism from players. The company subsequently permitted affected customers to request a proper canvas bag.
Fallout 76 continues to receive ongoing updates and support, with future content planned to tie into the Prime Video Fallout TV series. Looking further ahead, Bethesda is developing Fallout 5, but it is slated for release only after The Elder Scrolls VI, meaning players should not anticipate it anytime soon.