Fallout 76 Repair Kits raise new “pay-to-win” concerns

Enlarge / Welcome to the Atomic Shop, where your real money can turn into cosmetic items and, soon, this one specific item that helps you win the game. (credit: Bethesda)

Since Fallout 76's release last November, the game's "Atomic Shop" has allowed players to use in-game currency and/or real-world money solely for cosmetic items like skins, costumes, and emotes. "It doesn't offer anything with a competitive advantage, and more so, it aims to bring joy not just to you, but the other dwellers around you" is how Bethesda's website describes the shop.

That seems set to change at least a bit with tomorrow's "Patch 8" update to the game, which will introduce a new Repair Kit utility item to the shop. While "Improved" Repair Kits can only be found through gameplay, "Basic" Repair Kits will be for sale in the Atomic Shop, offering instant restoration of any one item in your inventory to full durability.

That addition has some fans up in arms that developer Bethesda has broken a promise to keep so-called "pay-to-win" elements out of the premium game. As Bethesda's Pete Hines told Gamespot last October [emphasis added]:

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