Never underestimate the power of a tie-in. Since the release of Amazon’s surprisingly good Fallout show, sales across the entire series have skyrocketed, putting Fallout games back in the top 10 list for the first time in years.
On the surface, it’s not hard at all to see how this happened. Video game adaptations seem to be in a bit of a renaissance lately, with every property from Mario to The Last of Us managing to make the leap from the console to the silver screen without stumbling too hard. Given Amazon’s Fallout is not only the first Fallout content that actually pushes the timeline forward since 2015, but also takes place in the same continuity as the games, it’s no surprise it’s pushed players to dive back in and carve their own journey through the Wasteland.
In the week since the Fallout show launched, Fallout 4‘s sales have risen over 7,500 percent to make it the number one best-selling game in Europe (digitally, that is). The entire series has received discounts on digital storefronts to coincide with the show, meaning it’s not a huge investment for newly-minted fans of the franchise brought in by Amazon’s series. As the most recent single-player entry in the series, it’s also the most streamlined and accessible to newer fans—anyone who wanted to play Fallout 4 before the show launched, after all, likely already owned it.
Even aside from the show, there are a few other factors driving up interest in the game. The lukewarm fan response to Starfield has sent at least some players flocking back to Bethesda’s previous game, but more impactful by far is Fallout 4‘s upcoming next-gen patch. This free update, which is slated to arrive next week, overhauls the game entirely for next-gen consoles and more powerful PCs as well as adding a substantial amount of new content (at least some of which will probably be show tie-ins for that sweet synergy). Get those Creation Club credits ready.
Also on the top 10 list are Fallout 76 at number eight, Fallout: New Vegas at number nine, and Fallout 3 at number 10, proving this resurgence isn’t just affecting Fallout 4. With the exception of Fallout 76, however, these other games haven’t been touched or updated in years, representing a slightly higher barrier to entry—but New Vegas is so worth it.
With so much going well for Fallout right now, it can be tempting to look to the future of the series, but don’t get too excited. Bethesda boss Todd Howard has explained Fallout 5 will be the studio’s next project after The Elder Scrolls 6, which itself might not even come out this decade. The show and the patch, unfortunately, are likely to be the most new Fallout content we get for a long time.
