Those who have been following the developments of the suspicious web site, The Survivor 2299, which is said to be Bethesda's way of teasing Fallout 4, may have mixed feelings with the activity on the supposed teaser or hoax Web site.

The following of the Web site has grown, as more are constantly keeping watch on the various countdowns appearing on site. The latest the clues point to a Nuclear Winter, which has an accompanying countdown with 8 days left as of writing and a morse code in the background. This date points to December 11, which can mean another countdown will appear or perhaps a new bit of information.

The newest message that comes with Nuclear Winter has already been decoded. According to IncGamers, the decoded message from Reddit had translated the message to "The Institute is Sealed. They Won't Help Us I'm Heading to Black Row. -TBNLS 5120-"

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This could be pointing to the MIT institute in Fallout, though there has been no explanation of what Black Row pertains to.

Other morse codes that have popped up since then have also been translated, with the latest morse code in the background decoded to mean, "Calling Black Row Out Station ground is safe to land Level 4 breach. No survivors, 899 corpses. We are leaving Vault 199, back to you."

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So teaser or a big, elaborate hoax?

Considering the progress of the Survivor 2299 Web site, the many updates, coded messages, and countdowns to the next bit of information, it's almost painful to say that this is all an elaborate hoax. For one thing, the time and effort to create something so viral and so piecemeal with regard to updates seems very tedious.

On the other hand, some of the reasons why people are very hopeful that the Survivor 2299 Web site is real hinges on previous findings. Gamepedia reports that the domain for Survivor 2299 is registered to ZeniMax Media, Inc., which is the same entity connected to Bethesda Softworks.

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In the same vein, a previous report from Game Informer had stated that, despite getting in touch with Bethesda about the Survivor 2299, the publisher declined to comment.

The report also comes with a strong of information on why the Survivor 2299 is possibly a hoax, from the fact that the domain is hosted outside of the US to the registration of Survivor 2299 through GoDaddy instead of Corporate Domains, similar to Bethblog.com.

Even Kotaku has given its two cents' on why Survivor 2299 is unlikely Fallout 4. Some of the arguments are sound, particularly the many countdowns that don't point to a proper or appropriate date, as one of the countdowns missed December 7's Spike's awards.

Great teaser, great viral marketing

In a time when teasers, leaks, and rumours are heavily watched over and speculated by fans, it's no surprise that something as elaborate as The Survivor 2299 Web site would become a hot topic.

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If you were to imagine the most elaborate of plans, whether to promote a hoax and create a stir or to test the waters for a genuine product, The Survivor 2299 web site is doing it right. Drumming up Bethesda and Fallout 4 into the mix, while putting forward clues, countdowns, and chaotic backgrounders is a way to keep your audience hooked.

The fact that there have been translations of the morse codes and the fact that the web site had a down time period (now speculated to be heavy traffic from fans and interested individuals) can be seen as proof of how well Fallout 4's supposed teaser The Survivor 2299 is being received.

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