- Bethesda and Naughty Dog saw similar success following the launch of a TV show.
- However, it appears both of the developers are making the same mistake.
- None of them had anything prepared for this excitement, letting the buzz go to waste without new announcements.
Last year, The Last of Us premiered on HBO and became the talk of the town. The show averaged over 32 million views per episode, becoming one of the most famous pieces of entertainment in 2023.
While I was expecting Naughty Dog to use this opportunity to make a grand announcement about the series, the studio had little to offer amid its focus on remakes. Also, they eventually canceled the multiplayer spin-off based on The Last of Us Part 2.
Fast forward to 2024, Amazon’s Fallout TV show has led to similar excitement for Bethesda’s prized IP. Yet, for all their similarities, these studios seem to have made the same grave mistake.
Bethesda is following in the footsteps of Naughty Dog, failing to take advantage of this all-time high interest.
Why it matters: Fallout became largely irrelevant after the debacle that was Fallout 76’s release. This changed after the TV series debuted on Amazon.
Bethesda Is Repeating Naughty Dog’s Mistake
Last year, I looked forward to hearing more from Naughty Dog about The Last of Us Part 3. However, all the studio could muster up was a sorry excuse of a PC port that was rushed out because PlayStation and Naughty Dog failed to prepare for the success of HBO’s TV show.
I had similar hopes for the Fallout franchise. Every game of this IP has seen a resurgence on Steam, and titles like Fallout 76 even set new records, reaching over 50K players for the first time in the last six years.
Other entries, like Fallout 4, released nearly a decade ago, saw a similar boost to player counts. Much to my surprise, Amazon had the best announcement, confirming a season 2.
Meanwhile, Bethesda told us all that Fallout 5 is nowhere near ready, throwing everyone a bone with the next-gen Fallout 4 update, which is also quite buggy, indicating a similarly rushed release as Naughty Dog’s PC port from 2023.
My point is that this isn’t enough. Bethesda needs to strike while the iron is hot. Even if it’s just a small teaser trailer, millions are paying close attention to the Fallout brand. In my opinion, both Naughty Dog and Bethesda underestimated the influence and impact of these adaptations.
Sure, they poured their heart and soul into these projects, with directors Neil Druckmann and Todd Howard working closely with the production teams. However, this could have been the beginning of something much bigger.
The Ball is In Your Court, Bethesda
Todd Howard and his team are no strangers to early reveals. Bethesda revealed The Elder Scrolls 6 half a decade ago, and the team has only just begun to make progress on the project.
In my opinion, a similar teaser trailer for Fallout 5 would be the best move for this developer. It doesn’t even have to be a huge announcement. With how excited everyone is about this series, even a thirty-second announcement video would do the trick.
Sure, most people would know such an announcement would be nothing more than a bluff.
However, Fallout has garnered mainstream attention across the globe after this series. This is the audience Bethesda needs to target, and I hope to see the developer making smart use of the opportunity at hand.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.
