Man Downloads Fallout 4, Loses Wife and Job

Russian is now suing game's creator, claiming he developed an addiction
By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 22, 2015 7:09 AM CST
Man Downloads Fallout 4, Loses Wife and Job
Fallout 4 trailer screenshot.   (Bethesda)

A 28-year-old gamer from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk is suing Fallout 4 maker Bethesda Game Studios for an addiction he says cost him his wife, job, and health. After seeing an ad and downloading the game last month, he found himself emerging from a bunker into a post-apocalyptic world, and apparently decided to stay in this world for the next three weeks straight, reports RT.com. He stopped sleeping, eating, and working, resulting rather naturally in the loss of his job, the deterioration of his health, and the rapid departure of his wife.

"If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it," he 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." He's decided to sue Bethesda for about $7,000 for the resulting emotional distress. And while the American Psychological Association hasn't yet recognized video game addiction as a standalone clinical disorder, problems abound, notes VentureBeat. Earlier this year, a Chinese gamer who played World of Warcraft for hours without stopping died, while a judge ordered NCsoft of South Korea to pay one gamer's legal fees when he sued the maker of Lineage II, which he says he wouldn't have played had he known it was addictive. (A sizable percentage of doctors play mobile games while at work.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X