Bethesda is one of the stalwarts of the PC world, so to find out that the developer has managed to ace the App Store with its first mobile game is quite the surprise. But you can’t deny the figures, with one analytics firm reporting Fallout Shelter has earned over $US5 million in the two weeks following its launch.
According to Superdata Research, Fallout Shelter has not only beat out the likes of Candy Crush Saga, but it’s raked in $US5.1 million for Bethesda. Whether it can keep up this momentum in the long term remains to be seen — it’s already dropping down the ranks, going by App Annie — however, for now it’s still an unexpected earner for the studio.
The other point that’s yet to be factored in is the impact the game’s success will have on Fallout 4. I’m not sure what the cross-over is from mobile to PC, but it certainly can’t hurt sales.
US digital games market: June 2015 [Superdata Research, via IGN]
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15 responses to “Fallout Shelter Made An Astonishing Amount Of Cash In Its First 2 Weeks”
Wholly deserved. They gave their fans a free-to-play mobile app that DIDN’T hit you with a pay wall. It was fun and never intrusive. Great game that I still play.
It’s one thing to try and force players to pay. It’s another thing entirely to just let them have fun and allow them to pay if they wish. I spent $20 on Fallout Shelter because I was treated with dignity and I wish to support that. My roommate did the same thing.
I did the same thing too.
Still haven’t played. Waiting to get my Fallout 4 on 😀
Still waiting for the Android version.
Spent about $12 on in-app purchases, not because I had to, but because I enjoyed the game so much. Has definitely made me think about getting Fallout 4, and I’ve never played any of the other Fallout games.
This is nothing but bad news.
Let’s be honest, bethesda’s head honchos are going to look at the sales versus cost of this mobile app versus that of fallout 4. Then, once again this will be putting grand ideas of devs shifting over to just focusing on mobile games.
I very highly doubt it. Fallout Shelter would in no way have been as successful if it didn’t have the triple-A title tie-in to Fallout, which means big games like Fallout 4 will still need to be made to get the most out of a mobile tie-in.
The success of Fallout Shelter is also because Bethesda is treating its fans with respect. This app is an appetiser before the main-course and the in-app purchases are in no way required to enjoy the game. If they were only releasing this app without Fallout 4 and were more intrusive with the pay method there is no way it would’ve been as successful as it was, and they would most likely be dealing with rage and ire from their fans.
I wonder how much money they would’ve made if it was ported to Android, or Windows Phone, or maybe Steam?
A Steam version would be great. I’ll probably have to settle for the Android version when it eventually comes out three months after Fallout 4 is released.
I’m curious to know who from Bethesda worked on this game, since the team responsible for the games we know and love don’t have any mobile experience. And Todd was pretty vague about who actually made it, he would just say “we” a lot.
The best possible outcome from them embracing mobile games, is to perhaps employ an extra 10 people and have them work on those projects, so the main Bethesda projects can continue outside of the distraction of such stuff. In the same way that ESO was kept separate.
I must have misread everything leading up to this. I could have sworn on Good Game and many other reviews they said this app is well worth the money – But it’s free (is that correct?)
It’s free to play, with optional in-game purchases. You can buy lunch boxes which give you items and dwellers, but these can also be found without spending a cent.
Having unlocked all the buildings and discovered that there isn’t anything even remotely resembling an endgame (most games have pvp or the like to make up for that), I would advise against actually spending money, since you’ll get over the game pretty quickly. And the endgame is actually quite broken since there’s a 200 population limit yet the game continues to offer missions like “have x babies” which is impossible unless you actively murder your vault dwellers. The game is brilliantly designed for the early game but it’s a mess later on. Don’t invest too much time or money in this game.
I spent $4.99 simply because if it had been a game you had to buy, $4.99 would have likely been the amount.. or similar. So after playing for a little bit, I decided to support them with a purchase. Other games that force or indirectly force you to buy stuff, doesn’t feel like you’re supporting the developer even though that’s what you’re doing.. it’s interesting how not forcing something makes it more of a feel good event.
Hopefully developers are taking note. You don’t need to force in app purchases to make money.
The guys that made Clash of Clans and Hay Day make $5 million a day. Goes to show what free to play games can make.