There is life in the wasteland again after the release of the Amazon Prime TV version of Fallout in April.
The show had the challenge of pulling off the difficult task of converting a beloved video game franchise into a live-action TV show, much like HBO did with The Last of Us last year. All indications are that the series is a hit with viewers with the series earning 65 million viewers in its first 16 days of availability, according to Variety, making it the second most-watched title ever on Prime.
Fans of the game have reacted positively to the adaptation effort. Senior Ely Rodriguez said she has enjoyed how the show added to the storyline of the game series with interesting characters and attention to detail similar to the game, including kill cams, and the post-World War II pop culture references of the 1950s.
“Over the eight episodes, we can see who the characters really are, and I personally enjoyed it,” she said. “Some characters do get good character development and I think it’s great.”
As with most game-to-show adaptations, the series sparked an explosion in players for the Fallout games with Fallout 4 and 76 experiencing the biggest boost. This spike in player count shows the power of a TV adaption when done well.
Released in November of 2015, Fallout 4 was revolutionary for its time. It had base-building features, a well-done combat system, enjoyable exploration, and many more things that solidified it as a favorite for many. The initial player count on launch reflected the love for the game with over 450,000 concurrent players. Over time, like every game, the player count slowly ticked down.
After the show’s release, the number of players for Fallout 4 skyrocketed with a peak of over 200,000 players. With so much interest in the game, video game media outlets like IGN have been posting player guides and tips for new players. It’s an impressive feat for a game that is nine years old.
Fallout 76, which came out in 2018, is the most recent game in the series. Reports stated the game was very buggy on launch mainly because the game was an online multiplayer game.
Over time, however, the game cleaned itself up with many bug fixes, quality-of-life updates, and a lot of DLC which added NPCs as well. Today, 76 essentially pulled a Cyberpunk-style revival after a Netflix series revived interest in the game that was notoriously buggy at launch.
The player counts for 76 after the Fallout show went from 5,000 to 72,000 players. Now that’s not as much as Fallout 4 for sure but for a game with such a rocky start, it was a big win for the 76 veterans who can now share the fun with the new players. Bethesda also has said that more DLC is planned along with more things added to the game and with the success of the show and player count, the upcoming future for the game doesn’t look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland anymore.
As a fan of Fallout, the show does a fantastic job of being a sequel alongside an adaptation of the franchise. I’ve been playing 76 with some friends and it’s a really fun time and a step up from its launch version.
Prime has announced a second season for the Fallout show so players will have more to look forward to in the future, including tie-ins for fan-favorite Fallout: New Vegas, including references to the game like weapons, characters, settings and so much more. Fallout fans are excited about the future of the show and with it in the hands of Prime, it’s a safe bet to say it will be on the map as one of the best video game adaptations ever.
