Fans might like Fallout 3 now, but back when it was announced there were so many death threats Bethesda had to hire a security guard
Always a good time to remember that they're just video games, people.
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People generally love Bethesda's Fallout games these days, but the announcement of Fallout 3 apparently led to some quite serious death threats.
Despite not receiving a mainline entry since 2015 with Fallout 4 (I'd argue 2018's Fallout 76 is more of a spinoff given its online focus), the series is doing quite well for itself at the moment. Tons of people are playing all of the games, and sales for Fallout 4 are up a ridiculous 7500% in Europe at the moment. That's obviously because of Amazon's recent live-action adaptation of the beloved video game series, which has thrust the games back into the spotlight. The show itself is doing well too, as season 2 has already been confirmed. However, things weren't always peaches and cream when it comes to Bethesda's approach to the Fallout world.
In a recent video from Fallout 3 and 4 creature designer Jonah Lobe, the artist who is in part responsible for what the Deathclaw looks like these days, shared quite plainly that following the announcement of Fallout 3, the studio received a lot of death threats. "When it was announced that Bethesda was going to take on the Fallout franchise there was a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of death threats," Lobe explained.
"I know it might shock you to learn that not every gamer is a wonderful person. And Fallout, I’m sorry to say, had more than its average share of less-than-pleasant fans. To this small but very vocal community, our attempt to resurrect the franchise was nothing less than a sacrilege. For the first time ever, Bethesda had to hire a security guard."
Speaking to Kotaku, Lobe wasn't able to recollect too many more details, though he did share that he remembered "there was a lot of toxicity in places like [Fallout fan site] No Mutants Allowed." Lobe also noted that both himself and other devs at Bethesda weren't "privy" to too many details involving the threats and the need for security, adding, "because obviously, you know, we were shielded from a lot of it."
Well, unfortunately these days death threats do still happen so, mostly it seems like things haven't changed all that much, but I suppose people do like Bethesda's Fallout games a lot more than they used to (aside from the New Vegas fans).
Mark had the opportunity to sit down with Lobe recently to talk about what he'd like to see in future Fallout games, which yes, does include a Godzilla-sized Glowing One.