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Fallout 4 ‘addict’ loses wife and job, sues Bethesda

Fallout 4 is changing.

Image Credit: Jason Wilson/GamesBeat

It’s always best to game in moderation.

A Siberian gamer is suing Fallout 4 creator Bethesda after he claims an addiction to the role-playing game messed with his real life. The 28-year-old says he lost his wife and his job after spending three weeks playing Fallout 4 while skipping work, not sleeping or eating, and ignoring his friends, reports RT.

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The American Psychological Association doesn’t recognize video game addiction as an official mental disorder, but it’s still a concern for many. Earlier this year, a Chinese gamer died after sitting and playing World of Warcraft for 19 hours straight.

“If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it,” read a statement from the gamer, who is now suing Bethesda Game Studios and the Russian localization firm for 500,000 roubles (around $7,000), claiming emotional distress.

“I would not have bought it, or I would have left it until I was on holiday or until the New Year holidays,” he continued.

RT reports that this is a test case for the Russian legal system, while the law firm representing the gamer says it wants to “see how far we can go regarding this case.”

Back in 2010, a Hawaiian gamer attempted to sue NCSoft, the makers of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Lineage II, claiming that the developers failed to warn him of the game’s addictive nature (he played over 20,000 hours over five years). The case was eventually dismissed with prejudice.