The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from three related video gaming companies after they acknowledged they were likely to have misled consumers about their consumer guarantee rights in relation to the online action game Fallout 76.

The companies, ZeniMax Media Inc, ZeniMax Europe Limited and ZeniMax Australia Pty Ltd (together, ZeniMax), accepted that their actions were likely to have contravened the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

The ACCC received complaints that ZeniMax representatives told consumers that they were not entitled to a refund after they had experienced a variety of faults with the Fallout 76 game, including, in some cases, problems with the servers, lagging, graphic and visual problems.

“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,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

ZeniMax will offer to provide refunds to consumers who contacted them between 24 November 2018 and 1 June 2019 to request a refund and have not already received one. Consumers who accept a refund will no longer be entitled to access and play the 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 provides,” Ms Court said.

“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.”

ZeniMax has also undertaken to amend its customer service documents and scripts to address the ACCC’s concerns about misrepresentation of the consumer guarantee rights under the ACL.

ZeniMax’s undertaking is available at ZeniMax Media Inc, ZeniMax Europe Limited and ZeniMax Australia Pty Ltd.

Background

ZeniMax Media Inc. creates and publishes original interactive entertainment content for consoles, PC, and mobile devices.

The Fallout 76 game was published by Bethesda Softworks LLC who is part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. family of companies. The Fallout 76 game was released on 14 November 2018.