Atomfall, the British survival game developed by Rebellion, has proven to be a resounding success since its launch on March 27, 2025, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Despite a significant portion of its 2 million players accessing the game through Xbox Game Pass, Rebellion announced that Atomfall became "immediately profitable" upon release, recovering its development costs swiftly.

Rebellion has not disclosed specific sales figures for Atomfall but highlighted that it marked their largest launch in terms of player engagement. The inclusion on Xbox Game Pass played a crucial role, allowing subscribers to try the game without purchasing it outright. This strategy did not hinder Atomfall's profitability, as Rebellion confirmed to The Game Business that the game had made back its development costs right away.

The success of Atomfall has led Rebellion to explore potential sequels or spin-offs while continuing to support the game with ongoing post-launch content and DLC. In discussions with IGN's sister site GamesIndustry.biz, Rebellion's CEO Jason Kingsley noted that launching on Game Pass did not cannibalize sales but rather provided a disproportionate benefit in terms of player engagement and revenue. Kingsley emphasized that Microsoft's subscription service ensures a guaranteed level of income, which helps mitigate financial risks for developers.

Launching on Game Pass also amplifies a game's visibility and reach, facilitating positive word of mouth that can drive further sales. As Kingsley explained, players who enjoy the game on Game Pass often recommend it to friends, some of whom may not be subscribers and thus purchase the game to join the conversation.

While the specifics of Microsoft's agreements with developers remain confidential, it's clear that both Rebellion and Microsoft have benefited from Atomfall's success, with the latter gaining from increased engagement on its subscription service. The last publicly available data from February 2024 indicated that Xbox Game Pass had 34 million subscribers.

IGN's review of Atomfall praised it as a "gripping survival-action adventure that takes some of the best elements of Fallout and Elden Ring, and synthesizes them into its own fresh mutation," underscoring the game's unique appeal and success.

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