A good adaptation can drive further adoption of the source material. We saw it happen with Cyberpunk Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077, now were seeing it again with Fallout and well, almost every Fallout game. On Steam where this is most trackable, we have seen 50-100% increases in player count for games like Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas or Fallout 76. But with Fallout 76 in particular, the most recent game in the series where it pivoted to online multiplayer, it has just broken its concurrent play count record on Steam. It had 39,455 peak players this weekend, up from 32,982 back when it launched on April 14, 2020, four years ago nearly to the day.
You likely remember the savaged launch of Fallout 76, back when it arrived with zero NPCs, clunky systems and as such, extremely poor reviews, a shocking 52 on Metacritic from Bethesda Game Studios, normally producing a clear GOTY contender with every new release.
But Fallout 76 has become a solid turnaround story since its initial release in 2018. It has had many, many updates, with a big turning point being its Wastelanders update back in 2020, right when it launched on Steam. Now, Fallout 76 has one of the most welcoming communities in gaming for new players, and its easy to play it like a more traditional Fallout game, even if you want to just play solo and not get involved with the online aspects too much. Ive dipped back in myself a few times and have found its much improved. And yes, I do have the itch to reinstall after Amazons Fallout series, and the knowledge that we are probably not seeing Fallout 5 until I am applying for social security.
Also helping the player count is the fact that Fallout 76 is currently discounted on Steam down to eight dollars, a far cry from its usual $40 asking price. Its also had many free weekends over the years to try to onboard players, but again, nothing has done the trick quite like Amazons well-reviewed Fallout show. And who can say no at that price? Its like two coffees.
It issomewhat dated at this point. Keep in mind this came out in 2018 and as we all know, Bethesdas engine is not exactly the most modern to begin with. But the game is fun and it certainly seems worth a try. Those old 52 scoring reviews are simply no longer relevant, but you cant resubmit to Metacritic so those are locked forever. But this is likely something you want to try for yourself.