PS+ Freebie Fall Guys is 2020’s Latest Gaming Phenomenon
Fall Guys has completely blitzed the gaming world as a massive multiplayer party game. | Source: Steam
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has sold 2 million copies on Steam in the week since launch.
- The game is also available for free to the 45 million PlayStation Plus subscribers as one of August’s freebies.
- Fall Guys continues to dominate the Steam Global Top Sellers.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has already sold a staggering 2 million copies on Steam alone, according to new figures shared by publisher Devolver Digital .
If you’ve missed out on all the fuss so far, Fall Guys offers a welcome twist on the battle royale formula, by pitting 60 players against each other in successive elimination rounds brimming with Takeshi’s Castle-style mini-games.
Video: Fall Guys is a breakout indie success
Players jump in as clumsy beans and vie to be the last one standing after a randomized assortment of obstacle-strewn races, survival rounds, and team games. It rather delightfully marries a cutesy aesthetic with fierce competitiveness where players don’t shy away from sabotaging others to get ahead.
It’s taken the gaming community by storm, egged on by Sony penning a deal to feature it as one of August’s PlayStation Plus freebies , granting a free copy to the service’s estimated 45 million subscribers.
On launch day, developer Mediatonic struggled to cope with the demand that exceeded even its most ambitious forecasts for player numbers. A week later and the Steam listing still displays the following warning :
‘We underestimated the number of jellybeans in the jar. We’re working hard to increase server capacity, but please be aware that matchmaking may be up and down during the launch window.’
2 Million Fall Guys Sold on Steam
There is no sign Fall Guys time in the limelight is ending anytime soon.
Devolver Digital revealed that Fall Guys has racked up 23 million hours watched on Twitch aided by some of the platform’s biggest streamers taking a shine to the game. For those hungry for in-game stats, Devolver also says that players have grabbed 1.5 million crowns and fallen 60 million times.
The real standout figure is the Steam sales figure, though – 2 million copies sold in a week. For what is ostensibly an indie title, not backed by the deep coffers of a AAA publisher, that’s an incredible feat, especially in such a short space of time.
It also confirms that interest in Fall Guys isn’t skewed by its current status as a PS Plus freebie; PC players are happy to fork out $20 for the game. Unsurprisingly, Fall Guys sits firmly in the top spot among Steam’s Global Top Sellers .
While it’s doubtful we’re looking at a sustained, Fortnite-style meteoric rise to a cultural phenomenon, Fall Guys has already left its mark.
Right now, on an unremarkable, if oppressively hot, mid-August Tuesday afternoon, there are over 135,000 people playing Fall Guys on Steam . And, many more will surely join them when the workday wraps up.
