It's little secret that Prime Video's Emmy-nominated Fallout TV series reinvigorated interest in the games, but we've just gotten another peek behind the curtain in regards to how much it's drawn more gamers to the franchise.
During Microsoft's Q4 earnings call today, CEO Satya Nadella took a moment to talk up the company's gaming division, touting that it now has more than 500 million monthly active users across all platforms and devices. He also talked about how game properties owned by Microsoft have been making the leap to film and TV, pointing to a previously revealed stat that Fallout became Prime Video's second-most-watched show after its premiere in April. It drew an absolutely massive 65 million viewers in first 16 days, according to Amazon's own numbers.
What's new, however, is an assertion from Nadella that "hours played on Game Pass for the Fallout franchise increased nearly 5x quarter-over-quarter" after the debut of the Prime Video series. It's only the latest information we've gotten about how Fallout the show drew players to the games; shortly after its premiere, Fallout 76 saw over one million players in a single day. The games saw such a surge in popularity thanks to the show that even popular mod site NexusMods struggled to keep up with the influx of interest.
But the insight into Xbox Game Pass specifically is interesting, especially considering that numbers for players on the subscription service for specific games can be hard to come by. Every Fallout game is available on Game Pass, making it a convenient option for those looking to get into the series after binging the show.
Unsurprisingly, in the wake of Fallout's success, Prime Video swiftly renewed the TV show for a second season, and showrunner Graham Wagner previously said the team is "going as fast as we possibly can" to deliver it to eager fans. So, maybe Microsoft and Xbox should prepare for another influx of Fallout players soon enough.
Elsewhere in the earnings, Microsoft reported that Xbox hardware revenue is down 42% year-over-year, while gaming content sales skyrocketed again thanks to the Activision-Blizzard acquisition.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
