Years after its RPGs' releases, Bethesda's Fallout series is once again smashing US sales charts: "That Fallout show - it did some work"
Uranium fever is spreadin' all around
Fallout 4 is climbing its way back up revenue charts in the US alongside Bethesda's other, much older post-apocalyptic RPGs.
Following the success of 2024's Fallout TV show on Amazon Prime, it looks like the video games that started it all are finding new players years after their release. As shared by Mat Piscatella, executive director of analyst firm Circana, April saw a flood of Fallout-related sales in the States. Fallout 4 led its RPG predecessors (and MMO successor on the charts), standing impressively as the fifth top-selling game ranked by dollar sales. This means that it jumped up a whopping 82 spots from its 87th-place rank in March.
April's sales show Fallout 76 following close behind in eighth place - a whole 151 spots ahead of its 159th position in March. What's more impressive than both of these games' sales, however, is the fact that even older Fallout titles are garnering a fresh fanbase. Fallout: New Vegas, the Bethesda classic that spurred my own love for the series, was the 24th best-selling game in the US despite previously being the 193rd. Fallout 3, the RPG that arguably defined the rest of the series with its immersive FPS gameplay, was at rank 37 compared to its March spot at 316th place.
April 2024 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games - U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/fTWBm2ACXTMay 29, 2024
The mind-boggling stats don't end there. Fallout 4's VR edition hopped up 506 places from March to April, leaving it at rank 99 - that marks five Fallout games making the top hundred list. The series' classic CRPG titles got some love, too, with a bundle containing both the original Fallout and its sequel ranking at spot 122 after previously falling into 668th place. Most impressive of all, though, is the Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L Anthology - a collection featuring every Fallout title along with some goodies. The soon-to-release anthology bundle went up 3839 ranks from its previous spot at 3976 to 137.
It doesn't seem like the hype is dying down any time soon either as both Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 are among Steam's top sellers right now. In Piscatella's own words: "That Fallout show - it did some work." With countless mods to explore and another recent next-gen update from Bethesda, I've got at least a few hundred more hours of playtime in Fallout 4 to look forward to myself. It's the Skyrim effect all over again.
Obsessed with Fallout 4 right now, too? Check this DLC-sized Fallout Miami mod out.
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.