It has been announced today that Bethesda's very own mobile game, Fallout Shelter, has grossed $5.1m in it's first two weeks.
Many reports had suggested that the launch of this Fallout minigame was to create demand for the upcoming Fallout 4 title, and boy did Bethesda deliver. Now, they have seemingly optimized promotion of Fallout 4, while creating a top-grossing game. If anybody ever wanted a prime example of a "win-win" situation, here it is!
Usually the mobile gaming market drops over the summertime, however mobile revenues were up 20% from June last year, reaching a total of $367m. Bethesda seemingly has dominated both console and mobile markets of late as with Fallout Shelter alone grossed $5.1m, The Elder Scrolls Online (console version) sold a total of 138,000 digital copies, thus making huge strides on all fronts.
The mobile game industry is very crowded at the moment, but this achievement just goes to show that popular franchises can really succeed in this market. Fallout is a really popular game and has a massive fanbase, and it would seem that the translation to mobile has been pretty smooth for many gamers.
SuperData made the following comments regarding Fallout Shelter's success: "While we’ve seen mobile spin-offs based on AAA game franchises before–Call of Duty: Heroes, Halo: Spartan Assault and Heroes of Dragon Age–Bethesda managed to maximize exposure and reap the benefits.
"More significant than the publisher’s success is the notion that core gaming fans proved to be willing customers for a free-to-play mobile game.
"By emphasizing unobtrusive monetization and offline playability, Bethesda managed to earn the respect of a consumer group that is otherwise highly critical of free-to-play monetization. The game’s success further underscores the value of a strong franchise in the otherwise crowded mobile games market."
For those that are not entirely updated with the application or might be interested in playing the game, you can read more here.
