German GameStop Giving Fallout 76 Away Free With Used Controllers
Overall, the reception to Fallout 76 has been decidedly poor since the game launched back in November. Although there are plenty of gamers who have enjoyed their experiences with the title, there’s no doubt that the game had (and still has) a lot of problems. Although the developers have now fixed many issues, the studio has moved from PR disaster to PR disaster; making it one of the worst received AAA games of 2018. Now, GameStop stores in Germany are running a new Fallout 76 promotion. Sadly for the game, it’s being given away for free with used controllers.
The Latest Fallout 76 Promotion in German GameStop Stores
The Fallout 76 promotion is being run at GameStop stores in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland; anybody who purchases a used controller for the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 can get a free copy of the latest instalment of Fallout. When the game launched, copies of Fallout 76 retailed for €70 in those countries. However, the price has since fallen to as low as €30. By comparison, controllers for either console tend to cost between €50 and €60.
While there could be a variety of reasons for the Fallout 76 promotion, the most likely seems to be that GameStop is struggling to sell their stock of the game. Indeed, other German retailers appear to be having similar difficulties. The retailer Saturn is currently running its own rather bizarre Fallout 76 promotion; bundling a copy of Fallout 76 with a Fallout 76 Xbox One bundle. That means that customers can get an Xbox One and two separate copies of Fallout 76.
Although Fallout 76 launch sales were certainly sub-par, the game didn’t perform terribly at that point. However, a variety of mishandled PR disasters, the game’s many bugs, and the furore of complaints towards it online may have severely hampered the game’s post-launch-week sales. As such, retailers left with copies of the game at this stage are likely finding it difficult to sell them, despite Bethesda’s efforts to make improvements.