Rebellion wants more Atomfall - but it all depends on resources, says CEO

Launched in March 2025, Atomfall by Rebellion Developments fell in one of the most competitive months of the year, facing giants like Split Fiction by Hazelight and the colossus Assassin's Creed Shadows by Ubisoft. Even so, the new open-world shooter carved out its space. Now, CEO Jason Kingsley is already considering turning Atomfall into a franchise — if the studio can secure the necessary resources.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Kingsley reflected on the game's unexpected success:

"We did much better than our average estimates, actually," he commented. "It's nice when marketing comes back to you and says 'we underestimated our success at a high level'."

Although not revealing exact sales numbers, we know that Atomfall reached the milestone of two million players by mid-April. One of the key factors for this performance, according to Kingsley, was the game's presence on the Xbox Game Pass:

"They brought their skills and scale to our small project, and it worked very well for them, and for us too," he stated. Additionally, he explained that the Game Pass offered a guarantee of financial return, which was essential to make the project viable:
"Without going into details, they guarantee a certain level of revenue, regardless of how much the game sells."

However, before fans get too excited about the idea of a sequel, Kingsley made sure to keep expectations grounded:

"We want to do more Atomfall, but it will all depend on whether we can find the resources for it. The idea has always been to keep two-thirds of our portfolio with sequels and one-third with new IPs that push the boundaries."

And pushing boundaries doesn't come cheap:

"We literally cannot spend 200 million dollars to make a game. We simply don't have 200 million," he concluded.

It's worth remembering that Atomfall has been compared from the start to the classic Fallout, but this comparison has proven to be superficial, as Fraser Brown's analysis pointed out at launch:

"Atomfall has had to deal with the specter of Fallout since it was revealed, but the similarities are only superficial. Superficiality is probably the defining characteristic of the game: full of systems and obvious inspirations, but rarely delving into something of its own."

Despite mixed reviews, Atomfall represents an important victory for Rebellion, which has been betting on medium-sized games like Sniper Elite, Zombie Army, and Strange Brigade for years.

For those who haven't tried it yet, Atomfall is available for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, including on the Xbox Game Pass. And if all goes well, the British apocalypse can still yield many new adventures.