The Survivor 2299 website that many believed was a teaser for Fallout 4 was actually a hoax, and the operator of the website said as much on Saturday morning.
The hoaxer gave a detailed account of how he pulled it off and how much it cost, answering questions on the Fallout sub-Reddit.
The user, DCHoaxer, said that he came clean after Bethesda tweeted it essentially wasn’t behind the Survivor website--which was posting Fallout-related codes and ciphers since Nov. 15. Bethesda also apparently contacted him about the website.
The user said that he spent nearly $1,000 on the website.
“Hosting: 30$ Traffic (15TB) 60$ Phone number: Approximately 900$,” he wrote. He also said some of the money was spent on a CGI trailer, adding: “I'll do it after 12/11 on my website. Let things cool off a little. I don’t wan’t to piss off Bethesda at this time even more.”
“I’m one of these ’selfish bastards with a lot of money‘ so I wanted to release a CGI Trailer. But Pete Killed my plans. Maybe i’ll release it later along with the script, so somebody else can use it!” he said, referring to Bethesda’s Pete Hines, who is in charge of marketing.
One of the reasons why he carried out the hoax was because “some men just want to watch the world burn,” referring to the “Dark Knight” Joker line.
But he added: “I wanted to force Bethesda to reveal something during VGX/ on 12/11, and bring /r/Fallout community together (for at least 3 weeks) Unfortunately, this plan Failed.”
When the Survivor 2299 site was revealed to be a fake, it read: “THAT’S ALL FOLKS.”
“Ah, and thepropheteer.com is a fake too (Still thumbs up for this guy it looks great!). Don’t hate bethesda, hate me. That’s all. I really hope you’ll get a real Fallout 4 soon, guys. PPS To real haters: if you really wish me dead IRL, go here,” the site said.
Inc Gamers reported it got messages from a fan who had conversations with the person in charge of the Survivor 2299, saying he was “bored” with running a Fallout Facebook page, and so he created the Survivor hoax.
And Bethesda, via Twitter, wrote on Friday evening: “If you don’t hear it through an official channel like this, assume all rumors and speculation are false.”
Friends Read Free