If you’ve played Fallout 4 you’ll know how addictive it’s free-roaming gameplay can be.
But for some, the pull of Bethesda’s latest adventure has proven to have a disastrous effect, as is the case for a Siberian gamer who is preparing to sue the game developer for failing to warn him about the game’s addictive qualities.
The 28-year-old claims that he lost his job and his wife as a result of his Fallout 4 addiction, and is suing for 500,000 roubles (£4,700, $7,000), as reported by RT.
The report claims that the man from Karasnoyarsk became so dedicated to completing his adveture in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that he stopped leaving the house, failing to turn up for work or socialise for three weeks.
Related: Fallout 4 tips and tricks
He told RT: “If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it. I would not have bought it, or I would have left it until I was on holiday or until the New Year holidays.”
Bethesda and the Russian localisation firm will both be targeted by the lawuit, which seeks compensation for ’emotional distress’.
The lawsuit will be the first of its kind in Russia, and is being called a ‘test case’ by RT.
Such cases aren’t entirely without precedent elsewhere. Previously, an American man received compensation from developer NCsoft after becoming addicted to their game Lineage II.
Does our Siberian friend have a case? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
