To say that the adventures that Bethesda brings to life have modding communities surrounding them would be a massive understatement. Many players often take to these particular titles simply for the modded gameplay. That said, their latest experience, Fallout 76, isn’t quite there yet compared to previous games from the studio.

However, this hasn’t stopped some fans from creating some interesting stuff so far. Unfortunately, this has led to Bethesda bringing down the banhammer on some players who were considered to be cheating. The reason was due to having third-party software running while playing Fallout 76. Those affected by this were sent an email by Bethesda, which said:

“This account has violated the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service by cheating. The account was detected to be running a third-party application, which provides an unfair in-game advantage, while logged into Fallout 76. […] The use of this type of application is not permitted under any circumstances, nor for any reason. As a result, we regret to inform you that this account has been permanently disabled and will no longer be eligible to participate in any ZeniMax Online services.”

YouTuber JuiceHead first shared the information regarding the banning of Fallout 76 players after doing some digging into the matter. Not only were those using third-party software while playing the game banned, but they were even offered up a way to get out of the dog house. Apparently, all you have to do is write an essay. The email continued, saying:

If you would like to appeal this account closure, we would be willing to accept an essay on “why the use of third-party cheat software is detrimental to an online game community”, for our management team to review.”

Well, that is certainly one way to go about it, Bethesda. It’s nice to see the company giving players an opportunity to get back in, but not everyone feels that they’ve been banned for good reason. In the video linked above, it is explained that simply by having the Cheat Engine software running, Bethesda’s anti-cheat measures picked up on it and deemed its use bannable, even if it wasn’t being used in conjunction with Fallout 76.

Bethesda hasn’t said much of anything publicly, but we hope they speak up soon and address the issue at hand. Until then, players can enjoy the West Virginia wasteland on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, or they should probably get to working on that essay. Keep it tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers as this story develops, and for other gaming goodness going on right now, check out the following:

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What say you, gamers? Did you receive the email from Bethesda stating that you were banned from Fallout 76? Will you be writing an essay, or doing believe you were banned unjustly? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!