Some games suffer from a rough launch and eventually disappear, never to be heard from again. But No Man's Sky, rose out of the ashes of a disastrous start and became something greater. So great, in fact, that it caught the eye of famed horror/sci-fi filmmaker John Carpenter.

Speaking to the AVClub, Carpenter notes that "it's sick" how many hours he put into Fallout 76, and praises the game for being "relaxing." That's the exact kind of thing I'd expect as a big Carpenter fan: relaxing in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But it's not just an eccentric tidbit; it's a sign of how far Fallout 76 has come since its rough 52% Metacritic launch score loomed over it.

John Carpenter "Got Hooked" On Fallout 76

Years After Launch, Many Others Did Too

The man who directed Escape From New York and Escape From L.A. would inherently be drawn to a post-apocalyptic setting, but Carpenter couldn't hold back professing his love for the game years after it had been deemed a disaster. After briefly mentioning that Dead Space would make a great film adaptation, he pivots into talking about Fallout 76, a ion of his. Although he doesn't play multiplayer because he doesn't "want to be shamed by some young punk," one of the most relatable statements I've ever heard in the gaming space, he's logged a "sick" number of hours in Fallout 76.

According to Carpenter, he was "addicted" to Fallout 76, calling it a "big part of his life" and a "relaxing" activity that he uses to the time and de-stress. Although it sounds silly, I know exactly what he's talking about. I can recall the exact cultural shift when Fallout 76 became good enough to recommend, notably after the major NPC update in 2020, nearly three years after its original launch. After that, the conversation shifted a bit regarding Fallout 76, with fans coming out of the woodwork to spread the news that the game had been "fixed."

Fallout 76 will celebrate its seventh anniversary in 2025.

Despite A Lackluster Launch, Fallout 76 Has Become A Lauded RPG

It's Still Going, In Fact

Once Bethesda added more base-building options and more content, the rest is history. Over the years, Fallout 76 has hosted multiple major updates and expansions (including Wastelanders, Steel Dawn, Steel Reign, The Pitt, and Atlantic City), on top of myriad events, season es, and even a subscription service. Bethesda's approach was two-pronged, as they more aggressively monetized the game in conjunction with their increased developmental efforts. The bid paid off, and Fallout 76 had a bona fide community to the game, amid the influx of players who wanted to experience "multiplayer Fallout" like Bethesda intended to deliver at launch.

In the end, it was a smart move for Bethesda to pay up, put in the time, and rehabilitate Fallout 76. The potential for an open-world, multiplayer Fallout game was limitless, and although it took several years to recover from the damage, the sometimes polarizing publisher ultimately achieved the goal of turning things around. Fans will this the next time a Fallout game is released, even if it's been 10 years since Fallout 4​​​​​​. John Carpenter certainly will.

Source: AVClub, Metacritic