It’s more than fair to say thatFallout 76has hit quite a few significant bumps on the road ever since it released last year: the post-apocalyptic online RPG hasstruggled with bugs, controversy, and large-scale griefing. As a result, many consumers who played the game attempted to get refunds, with Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax turning many of them down.
Today, however, consumers in Australia have won a big victory in getting their money back: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking on behalf of AustralianFallout 76players who want a refund.
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According to the ACCC, the commission received ample complaints from Australian consumers who were turned down for refunds after purchasingFallout 76, with many having been turned off from the title due to lag, server issues, and graphical errors. With the ACCC now stepping in to force Australian Consumer Law, ZeniMax has now agreed to reach out to consumers who contacted them to request refunds throughout July 12, 2025 and July 14, 2025 and offer them their money back, albeit very belatedly.
A statement from ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court defined the problems encountered inFallout 76by these consumers as a ‘major failure’, which grants them a legal right for a refund.
ZeniMax has acknowledged that they are likely to have misled certain Australian consumers about their rights to a refund when they experienced faults with their Fallout 76 game. When a consumer buys a product it comes with automatic consumer guarantees, and retailers must ensure their refunds and returns policies do not misrepresent what the Australian Consumer Law provide. When a consumer has purchased a product that has a fault which amounts to a major failure, the Australian Consumer Law provides them with the right to ask for their choice of either a repair, replacement or refund.
While not every country has such consumer protections, it’s good to see that some players left miffed byFallout 76will be entitled to their money back. Of course, once the refund is processed they will lose access to the game itself, though one imagines those who requested a refund likely haven’t been too active with the post-apocalyptic RPG.
Suffice to say, the drama surroundingFallout 76is far from over. For now, at least consumers in Australia who attempted to get a refund for the game between June 23, 2025 and August 03, 2025 will be entitled to get their money back. There was no deadline mentioned for when ZeniMax must reach out to these consumers by.
Fallout 76is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source:Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
