The success of the Fallout TV show from Amazon continues to draw plenty of attention to the video games. Last week, almost every Fallout game saw a surge in players on Steam, with Fallout 4 even seeing a 7,500% increase over in the UK. Now, Fallout 76, the online multiplayer game that seemingly bounced back from a disastrous launch thanks to numerous updates over the years, has beaten its all-time concurrent player count on Steam.
According to SteamDB, Fallout 76 saw its highest player count ever with 64,083 playing the game concurrently on Saturday. This beats its previous record of 40,000 concurrent players which was just set last week following the release of the Fallout TV show. It’s worth noting that the player numbers for Fallout 76 could be much higher if we take into account the console versions as well as its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass.
Fallout 76 originally launched back in 2018 to a very mixed reception. The game’s Appalachian wastelands and various cryptid-inspired monsters were praised, though Bethesda Game Studios faced some major backlash for its mishandling of marketing, ranging from misadvertised tote bags to subscription services – the list of controversies are too vast to mention, though you’ll find plenty of documentaries about it online today. We recommend this one from The Internet Historian.
Bethesda kept its head down and quietly updated Fallout 76 over the years, adding features such as NPCs (yes, the initial launch of the game didn’t even include NPCs), new quests, locations, gear, factions, expansions and much more to inject new life into its online multiplayer title. Today, it’s a pretty good game depending on who you ask. Players might’ve caught onto this due to its increased popularity, which undoubtedly includes some returning players curious to see how far things have come since launch.
Amazon’s Fallout TV show was officially renewed for a second season last week, so it’s only good news as the franchise enjoys a much-needed boost in relevancy and popularity today.
Source: SteamDB
