After 24 years with Bethesda, former Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications Pete Hines has revealed his most persistent regret from his tenure at the company. Despite numerous successes throughout his career, one particular incident from Fallout 76's problematic launch continues to occupy his thoughts years later.

The 2018 release of Fallout 76 remains one of the most notoriously troubled game launches in industry history. Players were particularly critical of the complete absence of NPCs in a Fallout title, compounded by an overwhelming number of technical issues at release. The situation was further exacerbated by the game's premium $200 Power Armor Edition, which became a source of significant disappointment for dedicated fans. The central controversy involved the collector's edition bag - initially promised as a canvas West Tek bag, production issues led to a substitution with a nylon alternative that left customers feeling cheated.

In a recent interview, Hines confessed that the Fallout 76 Collector's Edition situation continues to bother him personally. "My immediate reaction was confusion about when we had even included a canvas bag in this edition," Hines revealed. "The version I had approved didn't include one. The team was attempting to enhance the Collector's Edition's value, but we constantly battled with finance about pricing margins. I would frequently argue against excessively high prices, yet in this instance, their intentions were genuinely positive."

While acknowledging that material shortages caused the substitution, Hines identifies his "greatest failure" as not immediately advocating for manufacturing and distributing canvas bags to every disappointed customer. "I remained frustrated that the bag had been included without my knowledge initially, and then the canvas shortage occurred," he explained. "It stands as perhaps the most foolish mistake I made during my time at Bethesda." Although Hines departed from Bethesda nearly two years ago, the memory of Fallout 76's turbulent launch continues to resonate with him.

The subsequent evolution of Fallout 76 has made reflecting on its initial release somewhat less painful. Bethesda has demonstrated substantial dedication to enhancing the game through numerous substantial updates that have transformed it significantly from its 2018 state. The canvas bag controversy now feels like ancient history, particularly with Fallout 76 enjoying renewed success and popularity in 2025.