An issue with the Fallout 76 PC beta is forcing some to redownload the game

Update: We're in the beta and playing, though some players are apparently still re-downloading Fallout 76 after the launcher encountered problems earlier today. Bethesda says it's investigating.

We are actively investigating an issue causing PC players to redownload the #Fallout76 B.E.T.A. If you see a progress bar, please allow the download to complete. Thank you for your continued patience while we work to resolve this issue.October 30, 2018

Original story: I've been sitting here today watching the Bethesda launcher's Fallout 76 beta timer run down, knowing it would expire two hours early and wondering why. Everything Bethesda has published stated the PC beta would begin at 4 pm Pacific, but the timer was two hours ahead, and clicking on it showed a 2 pm start. I even helpfully (not that helpfully) tried to point this out to Bethesda on Twitter:

I'm on pacific time and bad at math, but da fuh? @Fallout pic.twitter.com/N6NZ74Rs4JOctober 30, 2018

When the timer expired, the launcher told me (eventually) that my copy of Fallout 76 was being unlocked, then displayed a 'Preloaded' button, which I clicked, at which point it tried to download the preload again. Which is weird! It's preloaded, there's no need to re-preload it. I hope. (Update: it is now in fact making me re-download the preload. Sigh!)

I foolishly restarted the launcher, at which point I became unable to log back into my account, receiving an error message and being told to check my username and password. Eventually I got back in, but my game library is currently entirely blank. The forums at Bethesda's site are showing a 504 message as well.

Bethesda is currently looking into the issue and hopefully it will be resolved soon. In the meantime, Bethesda asks that we not click on their launcher. Seriously, don't click anything.

PC #Fallout76 B.E.T.A. players: We are aware of an issue with the client and are investigating. Do not click any buttons on the client for the time being.October 30, 2018

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.