Microsoft Gaming Marks 500 Million Monthly Players, Notes Fallout TV Show’s Impact On Game Pass

In its latest financial earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella celebrated a major milestone for the company’s gaming division, reporting 500 million monthly active users across all platforms and devices. While the success has clearly been influenced by Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the Fallout TV show also got a shoutout from Nadella for its influence.

The CEO talked up the success of Prime Video’s live-action Fallout adaptation (via IGN) in his part of the presentation, saying the TV show was bringing Microsoft’s IP to new audiences. Nadella revealed that player numbers for Fallout games on Game Pass had increased by five times compared to the previous quarter, with that increase attributable to the popular TV show.

We’ve already seen plenty of statistics on how the TV show, which has become Prime Video’s second-most-watched title, has led to a renewed wave of interest in Fallout video games. Steam rankings saw huge boosts across multiple Fallout titles, while 2018’s Fallout 76 is more popular on Steam than it’s ever been.

Statistics showing how popular a given title is on Game Pass are not usually made available, making Nadella’s comments an interesting look at the Fallout franchise’s resurgence in the last few months. All Fallout titles are available on Game Pass, making the subscription service a good option for new players who are looking to get into the franchise.

Later in the earnings call, which covered Microsoft’s financial results for the fourth quarter of financial year 2024, Microsoft revealed that its hardware sales have declined dramatically. Meanwhile, the company’s gaming division has seen a large increase in content-and-service revenue driven by its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.