During the early months of 2025, Atomfall was a very hot topic in terms of its Xbox Game Pass release - we were seeing loads of marketing for it and big info dumps as the game approached launch. This led to a 'colossal success' for the game earlier this month, and as it turns out, it seems to have done fantastically well for Microsoft too.
Speaking in a new interview with gamesindustry.biz, CEO at Rebellion Jason Kingsley talked about how successful the game has been so far - both in terms of the dev team itself and for Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass launch. Here's an excerpt from that chat:
"It’s been a huge success [...] Microsoft has been a fantastic partner to work with, they’ve really leaned in to helping us. They brought their skills and their scale to bear on our small project, and it’s done really, really well for them, so they got a good deal, we got a good deal out of it as well."
The CEO went on to talk about how Game Pass, and the conversation that the service brings, has also aided in the game's wider success. Kingsley adds that "they [players] then tell their mates on social media, ‘I found this game on Game Pass, I really enjoyed it, you should have a go'" - leading to more players from premium sales as well as those enjoying the game on XGP.
"At least, that's our theory – we don't have the data in for that [...] one of the biggest challenges for a company like us is discovery. And Game Pass has allowed for a lot of discovery for our game."
Generally speaking, then, it sounds like Atomfall's Xbox Game Pass arrangement has been a mutually beneficial one for both Rebellion and Microsoft - which is music to our ears, to be honest.