Fallout 4 hoaxer: website designed to troll, force Bethesda's hand
"I'm the prick behind thesurvivor2299."
The creator of Fallout 4 hoax thesurvivor2299.com has held a Reddit AMA to discuss his trolling of the series' fanbase, and explain his aim of forcing Bethesda into showing something of the unannounced project.
In a vitriol-filled Reddit AMA, the faker admitted he had finally halted the site after Bethesda got in contact.
It previously featured a countdown clock and several bizarre Fallout-themed puzzles which attracted continued attention from the gaming press. It now states "That's All Folks!" accompanied by sad piano music.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn," the faker explained. "I wanted to force Bethesda to reveal something during VGX, and bring [the Reddit] Fallout community together (for at least 3 weeks). Unfortunately, this plan failed."
Had Bethesda not got in contact, the faker had next planned to troll visitors with a CGI trailer.
"I'm one of these 'selfish bastards with a lot of money' so I wanted to release a CGI trailer. But Pete [Hines, Bethesda's PR boss] killed my plans. Maybe I'll release it later along with the script, so somebody else can use it... I don't wan't to piss off Bethesda at this time even more."
The hoaxer claimed to have received over a dozen death threats due to the stunt.
The whole operation cost $900 (about £550) for website hosting and to create a phone number for visitors to call. "That's nothing for me," he concluded. "I know I'm a douche."