This is exactly what they do, but in order to accomplish that, they have to strip out the edge case gameplay. They are trying to merge incompatible tastes into one product, and so they include just enough to be (barely) tolerable to each market segment. This means they never make the top notch product for either group, because you cannot hit multiple targets in the center of each with one shot; better aim for one, is worse aim for the others.
It produces mediocre gameplay; just a bit above the level for being crap.
This is exactly what they do, but in order to accomplish that, they have to strip out the edge case gameplay. They are trying to merge incompatible tastes into one product, and so they include just enough to be (barely) tolerable to each market segment. This means they never make the top notch product for either group, because you cannot hit multiple targets in the center of each with one shot; better aim for one, is worse aim for the others.
It produces mediocre gameplay; just a bit above the level for being crap.
That pretty much sums it up. Its also why they wanted 76. Why keep spending all that development money on entirely new games when you can make 1 game and periodically update it with a new target, right? Its why they have a survival game, now with a battle royal mode. Whatever the next trend is they'll add that in two if 76 can survive that long. But its definitely their goal. They're following "games as service" style development, which is honestly bs, to streamline their streamlining.
EDIT: Its funny because I mostly ignore Bethesda and Gearbox news anymore and so when I come back to it, I'm always astounded by how much negativity they've collected with seemingly no consequences. Like a group of people who bitch about daily lynchings or something but all remember to carry their personal hangin' rope around like good pinatas.
I still remember when Bethesda said their Atom Store would only have cosmetics. This was used by fanboys as "Bethesda is good! Only Cosmetics, like it should be!".
Then Bethesda gave a limited time bonus to the Unstoppables costumes, which is already breaking the "cosmetics only". People complained, fanboys defended it because "it's only temporary, the bonuses are small and you can get one of the suits ingame without paying!". Others said it would get worse...
Then Bethesda introduced "Repair Kits", and after people pointed out that it's not a cosmetic, they said that "it wasn't giving any unfair advantage over other players", fanboys repeated this. The rest said "You wait and see, this is just the start, they will keep pushing these non-cosmetics more and more".
Now the Atom Shop offers an overpriced Fridge ($7) that increases the time for stuff to spoil. This is not a cosmetic only. Worse is that the Fridge was a community suggestion . People later suggested it to be a quest reward, but Bethesda doesn't lose a chance for some money. Community wants it? They can pay for it. I have no idea what fanboys are saying to defend this one, I haven't been following this.
Bethesda also released Scavenger bots, that will collect junk for the player and can be bought at the Atom shop (costs $5)... Another non-cosmetic thing... But wait, this isn't all, some folks found out that these scavenger bots were supposed to have been in the base game from the start. A real example of cutting stuff from the base game to sell as microtransactions. This is totally cliché, mustache twirling, gaming company villain stuff.
EDIT: Apparently they also have Scrap Kits for sale on the Atom Store. Which are one use only and allow a player to scrap all of their junk items and send the scrap directly to their stash box without the need to go to their base.
Apparently those helmets from the special edition of Fallout 76 have mold in them and that can cause some serious health issues if you try to wear them. At this point is just not fucking funny, specially when it involves people potentially getting hurt.
Edit: Apparently it's the Nuka Cola themed helmet that has this mold issue and not the actual helmet from the special edition. It's still ridiculous that they even sold this helmet given that it could have actually hurt someone if they put it on. Now i wonder if the actual helmets of the special edition have this issue as well.
I must say, this is new even for Bethesda I understand incompetence when it comes to writing and designing games but to actually try to kill your fanbase? That's a novel concept.
Of course they did not manufacture it themselves. Presumably they paid somebody who was either careless, or cut corners on the product; one can assume they were doing it for the lowest bid.
I still remember when Bethesda said their Atom Store would only have cosmetics. This was used by fanboys as "Bethesda is good! Only Cosmetics, like it should be!".
Then Bethesda gave a limited time bonus to the Unstoppables costumes, which is already breaking the "cosmetics only". People complained, fanboys defended it because "it's only temporary, the bonuses are small and you can get one of the suits ingame without paying!". Others said it would get worse...
Then Bethesda introduced "Repair Kits", and after people pointed out that it's not a cosmetic, they said that "it wasn't giving any unfair advantage over other players", fanboys repeated this. The rest said "You wait and see, this is just the start, they will keep pushing these non-cosmetics more and more".
Now the Atom Shop offers an overpriced Fridge ($7) that increases the time for stuff to spoil. This is not a cosmetic only. Worse is that the Fridge was a community suggestion . People later suggested it to be a quest reward, but Bethesda doesn't lose a chance for some money. Community wants it? They can pay for it. I have no idea what fanboys are saying to defend this one, I haven't been following this.
Bethesda also released Scavenger bots, that will collect junk for the player and can be bought at the Atom shop (costs $5)... Another non-cosmetic thing... But wait, this isn't all, some folks found out that these scavenger bots were supposed to have been in the base game from the start. A real example of cutting stuff from the base game to sell as microtransactions. This is totally cliché, mustache twirling, gaming company villain stuff.
EDIT: Apparently they also have Scrap Kits for sale on the Atom Store. Which are one use only and allow a player to scrap all of their junk items and send the scrap directly to their stash box without the need to go to their base.
I wouldn't call them cosmetic but they're not really "pay2win" either. The Unstoppables fiasco was a couple days of +15 hp if a party member wore a costume (at least one of which was available free in-game). This was about the only time I agreed with folks complaining because (in theory) if you could actually find 3 people who purchased different costumes you could potentially get an extra 45 HP for a short time. It was a dumb event and anecdotally I don't remember seeing even a small party of people trying to use the bonus (and I was playing a lot during that time) because of the requirement that each costume be unique (you each needed a different one). People bitched quite loudly about it though and they responded to feedback that they wouldn't pursue those sorts of bonuses again. This was the only "p2w" event that I could actually see where people were coming from because it affected an actual stat change, even if it was minor and the requirements were so particular.
Repair kits are already in-game rewards that don't require purchase but scrap is so plentiful you eventually end up throwing it away so there's not any kind of need for these. I am personally acquiring repair kits faster than I can use them so they get thrown away. It's not clear to me what the real advantage of these is.
The scavenger bot is the most recent source of outrage. I actually purchased this with my free atoms and I haven't even looted any of the junk it's collected. You are basically paying for a robot that walks around and tells jokes. That is what you're actually buying. Anyone claiming they get a huge in-game advantage from this item has clearly never looted anything in the game world because you are literally throwing that shit away and getting a random extra junk item every 10-15 minutes or whatever the interval is isn't even worth the trip to check the loot container.
TL;DR these items aren't as bad as people make them out to be, it's mostly a bunch of Youtubers and game journalists who don't actually play or understand the game trying to milk a culture of outrage about Fallout 76 for views and subscriptions. I will say I think the fridge sucks and isn't that useful. It should have been free because it's been a requested quality-of-life item for months but for it to be useful it would have to reduce spoil by at least 90%.
Also people seem to forget you get free atoms just for playing the game and completing random challenges. I had something like 3000 atoms banked recently from casual play which is about $30 USD. Most items cost in the 100-500 range and that's before they go on sale (which all items do). A lot of that shit can be bought without spending anything at all. Every event and DLC addition to the game is also free. Wild Appalachia was free. Nuclear Winter was free. Wastelanders will be free. If people don't like it they should stop playing it but most of the people complaining aren't playing at all
. People later suggested it to be a quest reward, but Bethesda doesn't lose a chance for some money. Community wants it? They can pay for it. I have no idea what fanboys are saying to defend this one, I haven't been following this.
This is totally cliché, mustache twirling, gaming company villain stuff. 
