Fallout 76 "mix-up" seemingly sees fan artwork used in Atom Shop, fan somehow finesses this into official work for Bethesda

An apparent accidental mix-up has seemigly seen Fallout 76's Atom Shop temporarily feature some fan artwork without the express permission of its creator. According to said, fan - Fallout fan film creator Zack Finfrock - allegedly copied artwork has since been removed from the store, and Fallout 76's creative director has even gone as far as offering Finfrock the chance to work with Bethesda in an official capacity in the future.

For a bit of background, Zack Finfrock isn't just a run-of-the-mill Fallout fan like you or me, he's been a key driving force behind several well-regarded and popular Fallout fan films over the years - with his latest project being Fallout: Breaking.

He's also done a lot of Fallout-themed artwork alongside that stuff, and, when the latest update to Fallout 76's Atom Shop went live on June 2, spotted that the art being used for one of the new additions - an Independence Day-themed Flag Waving Bundle - looked a bit familiar.

"Look, I love #Fallout76, and it seems someone on the art team loves my Fallout memes," Finfrock tweeted, "So [Fallout 76 creative director Jonathan Rush], who do I talk to about this? I get that I don't own the Vault Boy and whatnot, but you could have reached out so I could draw a newer, better version for your Atom Shop image."

The fan then looks to have reached out to Rush via Twitter DM in an attempt to resolve the percieved issue amicably, subsequently sharing screenshots of this conversation in which Rush appears to have responded: "We're getting that fixed. Mix-up with an external vendor...replacing image now. Thank you for bringing it up." He also later added: "Apologies for the circumstances. Your great art got confused for the official." In line with this, the artwork for the bundle in the Atom Shop appears to since have been changed to a different image.

Things don't end there, though, with Frinfrock essentially using the situation to shoot his shot at working on some official artwork for the developer, writing: "I am serious about wanting to work with you. I'd love to take this as an opportunity to open that door."

Rush, it seems, liked that idea too, having responded: "I would like to contract you for some artwork for our message of the day and bundles assets for a future patch, if you'd be open to it," and, after Finfrock agreed, added: "Awesome - we'll reach out soon. Will be fun getting to work with you."

We've reached out to Bethesda with the aim of verifying the mix-up took place and that it does indeed currently have plans in place to offer Finfrock some contract work on the game art-wise at some point in the future, as the shared messages suggest.

For more on Fallout 76, make sure to check out our recent interview with lead producer Bill LaCoste about the release of its latest expansion, Skyline Valley, which included some interesting answers involving Fallout 5 and Phil Spencer getting nuked.