Russian gamer sues Bethesda because Fallout 4 cost him his job and marriage

By Mike Epstein December 18, 2015

Fallout 4 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A 28-year-old man in Siberia has filed a lawsuit against Fallout 4 developer Bethesda claiming the game was “so addictive” that it caused him to lose his job.

According to RT News, the Krasnoyarsk-based player downloaded the game and proceeded to play the game excessively for three weeks, during which he frequently stayed home from work, and stopped speaking with friends and family. During this time, his wife asked him for a divorce, which led him to retreat into the game further. As a result of his prolonged emotional and psychological dependence, the man was eventually fired from his job. He also claims the game caused him to stop eating and sleeping.

Recommended Videos

The man believes Bethesda Game Studios and Russian localization firm SoftClub should have put a warning label on Fallout 4 to infom him it would be a potentially addictive product. For not doing so, the man has asked for 500,000 rubles (about $7,050 USD) as compensation for his emotional distress.

“If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it,” the man said in a statement. “I would not have bought it, or I would have left it until I was on holiday or until the New Year holidays.”

This case, should it go to trial, would be the first hearing regarding video game addiction seen by a Russian court. The result could set a legal precedent in the country as to whether players could sue developers for the psychological impact of their products. Meanwhile, game developers are currently facing similar legal challenges: In the U.S., Hawaii resident Craig Smallwood has sued developer NCSoft for not placing a warning label on its MMORPG, Lineage 2. Smallwood claims that his 20,000 hours logged into the game caused extreme depression and anxiety, for which he was eventually hospitalized.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

Gaming

The best Fallout 4 settlements and structures

Fallout 4 is a big game. Not only is the world massive, packed to the brim with all manner of interesting quests, characters, and locations to discover, but it also sports a number of other gameplay systems that take your adventure beyond the usual exploration that Bethesda's RPGs are known for. Most notable among these is the settlement feature.

Not content to simply provide players with a method for crafting their own gear and weaponry, Fallout 4 features a robust set of tools that empowers players to create their own post-apocalyptic settlement. Whether that manifests as a sustainable farm of crops and mutated livestock or a fortified fortress in the ruins of Boston is entirely up to you. These creation tools are highly flexible, too, and have produced some impressively creative structures from the Fallout 4 fanbase. Throw in a few mods and exploits of the game's buggy framework, and the possibilities become seemingly unlimited. We've searched the internet for some of the biggest, most intricate, and most creative Fallout 4 settlements and structures out there to help inspire your inner Frank Lloyd Wright.

Gaming

New Atari 50 DLC shows the Intellivision acquisition is already paying off

An Atari 2600+ sits on a table.

Digital Eclipse's Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is an excellent and comprehensive look back at the company's now classic video game lineup, with games to play and extra content to interact with. So far, it's gotten one DLC: The Wider World of Atari, that added even more titles. Now, it's about to get its second, thanks to an acquisition it made earlier this year.

Atari announced The First Console War on Friday, and it's about, as you can guess, the company's first console war with the Intellivision, although it'll touch on a specific element of it. In the 1980s, Mattel was publishing games on the Intellivision. At some point, it decided to release versions of these console exclusives for its main competitor, the Atari 2600, under the M Network label. There are 19 of these games coming to Atari 50 with The First Console War, which is set to launch on November 8 for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4 Atari 50 owners.

Gaming

Is Monster Hunter Wilds cross-platform?

Two hunters ride mounts in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Of all the genres that we think need to be on the list of cross-platform games, hunting games like Monster Hunter Wilds have to be near the top. These are a rather unique style of game compared to the likes of Fallout 76, Genshin Impact, or Stardew Valley. Each of those has cooperative or competitive elements to them that are enhanced by cross-platform support, but nothing like what Monster Hunter Wilds has going on. The game will allow you to call in NPCs to help you on the hunt, but these games are best when you get a group of real friends together and embark on an epic quest to slay a giant beast, scavenge it for parts, and return to camp victorious. Monster Hunter Rise eventually got cross-platform support once it was ported off the Switch, but will Monster Hunter Wilds launch with this feature? Here's what you need to know about cross-platform support in one of our most anticipated upcoming games.
Is Monster Hunter Wilds cross-platform?

Monster Hunter Wilds will only have partial cross-platform support. The good news is that the part that it will have is crossplay, meaning that you and friends on either PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC can all hunt together with no issues. This feature can be disabled if you wish, but will be enabled by default to make sure desperate hunters can always find some aid when in need.