Fallout 4’s 525% Increased Playercount Is Approaching ‘Helldivers 2’

Thanks to a massive resurgence in interest due to Amazon’s great new Fallout show, plus some big-time sales, Fallout 4 is experiencing what are far and away its best numbers since its launch on Steam in 2015.

Fallout 4 used to be topping out at a respectable 24,000 players a night, but as it stands, it has 160,000 concurrent players and rising this weekend, and is approaching the more recent Steam megahit of the moment, the multiplayer, 2024-released Helldivers 2, currently at 175,000 players. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that it could pass it.

Fallout 4 has already blown by Rust, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege and Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s just a few thousand away from the eternally-played GTA 5. It is one of multiple Fallout games experiencing this spike in the wake of the release of the Fallout show and the ensuing sales. Some numbers from before and after:

• Fallout 4 – 24,000 peak to 160,000 peak
• Fallout 76 – 12,000 peak to 64,000 peak (beating all time numbers at launch)
• Fallout New Vegas – 6,000 peak to 37,000 peak
• Fallout 3 – 1,000 peak to 10,000 peak

There has been some concern from Fallout fans that new players are being introduced to “inferior” Fallout by starting with Fallout 4, but I would argue that those who are saying that are the type of fans not worth listening to in the first place. It’s a good game!

Fallout 76 remains probably the most impressive thing here, as it has beaten out its actual launch numbers on Steam as players find the game has evolved well past the 50s-scoring Metacritic title that launched missing loads of features and fixes. Whether this is a long-term boost or sparks increased investment in the game is unclear.

While this may be a temporary surge, this raises questions about the IP in general, as Bethesda will likely not get to Fallout 5 for probably 7-10 more years, given their Starfield detour and their current work on Elder Scrolls 6. But will Microsoft, new owner of Fallout, allow that kind of a gap when so much enthusiasm for the series clearly still exists? That seems like something they need to figure out.

Fallout has been renewed for season 2, so I suppose the TV series itself may be what has to hold fans over until the next game, even if that means 5-6 seasons. I’m not sure what else they’re going to do on the game side other than more 76 content, but we’ll see.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.