Fallout season 1 “emboldened” the Fallout 76 team to deliver a huge in-game crossover

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Fallout 76, the latest installment in the popular Fallout video game series, saw a huge surge in players after the new Fallout TV show on Amazon came out.

In an interview with TopMob Gaming last September, creative director Jonathan Rush revealed they experienced a significant surge in activity (you can find the full interview in the video player above).

New fans were eager for stories like the ones we were telling, which gave us the confidence to keep developing our ideas and start planning for a second season.

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When the first season launched, the game saw a huge jump in players – about six times more than usual! It was a really positive experience, watching both new and existing players connect. We saw veteran players helping newcomers with quests, sharing items, and generally showing them the ropes, which was fantastic to see.

Bethesda senior producer Bill LaCoste explained that the recent surge in players following the TV show’s release was significantly larger than the increase they saw with the major ‘Wastelanders’ update in 2020. He noted, “We saw a lot of players come in for Wastelanders, but this surpassed that by a large margin.”

We noticed a huge influx of new players, as well as many returning after a long break – some hadn’t played since 2018 or 2019. A lot of these players were surprised to find the game was still active, and even more surprised by how much it had changed.

The game felt much more solid and reliable, allowing players to enjoy a lot more activities. We added daily challenges, more frequent events, and new bosses, which brought in a wave of new and returning players. We were also really happy to hear how much they appreciated all the improvements we’d made.

It was great for the team to receive such positive feedback about their progress and improvement in the game. Hearing those encouraging words really boosted morale.

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The surge in players and positive feedback encouraged the team to start working on season two right away, according to Rush.

When Fallout 76 first launched, players who were fans of the TV series could find a few cosmetic items referencing the show, such as a backpack inspired by Lucy’s outfit as worn by Ella Purnell.

Season 2 features a big addition: Walton Goggins, who played alongside Purnell on TV, returns as his character, The Ghoul, to introduce a brand new bounty hunting adventure.

Rush joked that the Ghoul had a ton of bounties he couldn’t handle on his own, and that’s where we came in – to help him out.

Rush described watching Walton Goggins record his lines as incredible. He was amazed by how quickly Goggins could completely become the character of the Ghoul, to the point where it no longer sounded like Goggins himself, but truly like the character. Rush felt it was a magical performance.

Fallout 76: Burning Springs, featuring Walton Goggins, is available to play now.

Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, managing content for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile, and VR games. He creates content for TopMob’s website, social media, and video platforms, and also produces their weekly gaming newsletter. Before TopMob, Rob worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.

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2025-12-20 11:38