Fallout 76 Reaches 13 Million Active Players Despite Prevailing Controversies

When it comes to post-apocalyptic game series, few come close to Fallout. Developed first by Interplay Entertainment, from 1997 to 2004, and now by Bethesda, an American-based video game developer famous for developing The Elder Scrolls series. There have been 4 games released in the main series, with 5th game expected to be announced soon, and 6 spinoffs, Fallout 76 being the latest.

Released in 2018, for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One, Fallout 76 was the first online action role-playing multiplayer game in the series and the first multiplayer game developed by Bethesda. The game is set in post-apocalyptic America in a different timeline than the main series.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

• Fallout 76 has reached 13 million active players 4 years after its release.
• The game was tainted with several controversies since its release.
• The number was revealed during Fallout’s 25th-anniversary celebrations.

The Fallout franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And in its calendar of festivities on Fallout’s website, they announced a free play event for Fallout 76, where they accidentally revealed that Fallout 76 now has 13 million players. The announcement said, “Join 13 million players and try Fallout 76: The Pitt for free.”

That’s a surprising number given how Fallout 76 had a mixed reception on its release, with many complaining about the gameplay being lame, purposeless, and lack of NPCs making the game feel empty and bland. This was manifested by game sales being low. Only 1.4 million copies were sold by the beginning of 2019.

Bethesda tried to address user complaints, but most of the time to no avail. They also introduced the Wastelanders update which added human NPCs in the world.

But the game was again marred in controversy when during a special event they gave players items that were different from how they were advertised. Even though the players were refunded, it did not help Fallout 76’s reputation.

Despite that, the game reached the milestone of 13 million active players. It is pleasant news for the developers of the game and an indication of the franchise’s large and dedicated fan base.

Will Bethesda learn from the mishaps with Fallout 76? Drop your opinions below.