Fallout 76 is a title that received a lot of flak from fans of the series because of the state in which it was released. It was downright unplayable because of bugs and glitches, contributing to Bethesda’s infamy of releasing glitched and buggy titles.
The title came out in 2018, and it has been almost six years, which is a long time for a single-player game focused on a campaign. However, as per a recent metric, the game seems to be regaining relevance and even outdoing itself in terms of active players, which has left fans surprised.
Fallout 76’s Surprising Upsurge in 2024
The latest title in Bethesda’s fan-favorite RPG series has a mixed or average Metascore, and the user score is even worse at 2.8, making it generally unfavorable. Recently, an account on Twitter called ‘CHAD: A Fallout 76 Podcast’ Tweeted about the game’s recent rise in popularity.
This is what the account posted on Twitter:
As seen in the post, before the Fallout boom that happened thanks to the TV Show adaptation on Prime Video, the game had an all-time peak four years ago, which was still relatively early in its lifecycle.
However, as the series gained traction and word of mouth spread virtually with public figures like game directors praising the show, it helped the game, too. After that, the game truly skyrocketed, reaching almost 40 thousand players. The Prime Gaming giveaway hosted due to the show’s premiere on Prime Video should also be credited.
Fallout 76’s Boosted Status Proves Why TV show Adaptations Work
Recently, many video game IPs have seen adaptations in the form of TV series. This includes IPs like The Last of Us, Halo, and The Witcher, among many others. Not all of them have been incredibly successful; they have been able to capitalize on the popularity of their respective video games.
Conversely, as seen above, video games that have been part of a primarily dormant franchise or were rendered irrelevant have been resurrected. The reason for this is that players who consume these TV shows are either aware of the title or fans of it already; after seeing their favorite characters on the small screen, they want to experience the games again.
This multiplanar effect impacts video games, television, and web show space. Hence, video games that were long forgotten spring back to life, IPs grow more robust, and additional cashflows help the stakeholders.
Regardless, nothing should be taken away from the credit owed to the makers of these shows. A video game adaptation is never a guaranteed success.
But what do you think of this phenomenon and video game adaptions in general? Which one is your favorite? We would love to know in the comments below.
