Rebellion, the developer behind Atomfall, confirmed its hit British survival game turned profitable right after launch. This success came despite a significant portion of its 2 million players accessing the title through Xbox Game Pass rather than purchasing it directly.
While Rebellion hasn't disclosed exact sales numbers for Atomfall since its March 27, 2025 release across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, the studio revealed it marked their most successful launch ever in terms of player engagement. Game Pass undoubtedly contributed to these impressive figures by making the title easily accessible to subscribers.
The developer emphasized that Atomfall's availability through Game Pass didn't negatively impact its profitability. In fact, Rebellion told The Game Business that their post-apocalyptic England simulator recouped development costs immediately.
Currently, Rebellion is exploring possibilities for sequels or spin-offs while continuing to support Atomfall with post-launch content and DLC.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Rebellion's Jason Kingsley explained how launching on Game Pass helped avoid potential sales cannibalization. "The benefits outweigh the costs significantly," Kingsley noted, highlighting Microsoft's guaranteed minimum revenue that helps mitigate financial risks.
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Game Pass also serves as a powerful marketing tool, exposing titles to massive audiences and generating organic word-of-mouth buzz that can translate to additional sales. "When players discover great games through Game Pass," Kingsley elaborated, "they naturally recommend them to friends - some who subscribe will play it, while others outside the service might purchase it outright."
Microsoft maintains confidentiality regarding its developer agreements, leaving profitability specifics between Rebellion and Microsoft undisclosed. However, the platform holder clearly benefits when popular games attract and retain Game Pass subscribers.
The most recent official Xbox Game Pass subscriber count from February 2024 reported 34 million users, though this figure has likely grown since.
IGN praised Atomfall as "a compelling survival-adventure that brilliantly combines elements from Fallout and Elden Ring into something uniquely its own" in our official review.
