I don't think anyone expected it to get anywhere close to a mainline Fallout game. It was a risk to try something new with the IP and I don't have a problem with that. More developers need to do that, actually. It's the reason we have games like World of Warcraft.
That being said, this might be a game without an audience. I think a lot of Fallout fans lean more toward single-player games with a lot of immersive elements. Many of the Fallout 4 forums online have a lot more older people and females than you see with a lot of other franchises.
I'm kind of halfway thinking that Bethesda is going to steer F76 more in that direction if it looks like the game isn't catching on. As more of a "service" offering, it might slowly transform into something more than it is now. I'm not interested at the moment but I am going to keep my eye on it and see if it undergoes any changes that might make me reconsider.
