One of the biggest games of 2020 has just reached its first anniversary. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was released on August 4, 2020. The last-bean standing party title took the gaming world by storm last summer, and it continues to be a similar success to this day. Developer Mediatonic should be proud of what it has accomplished with year one of Fall Guys.
The rise of Fall Guys was a huge surprise, as its day one launch on PlayStation Plus helped boost the over-the-top physics-based game to new heights. Although the title perhaps has died down compared to its towering popularity at launch, Fall Guys continues to be supported with new content to this day, and fans can look forward to exciting features in the future. On this one-year anniversary, there is already both a lot to look back on to celebrate and so much to look forward to.
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The instant popularity of Fall Guys was one of the true surprises of 2020. Before its release, the last-man-standing party game was one that some had an eye on, but mid-way through August, the game was breaking records on Twitch. Whether playing the game or watching someone, Fall Guys became an instant hit as soon as it hit digital shelves last year, something that perhaps not many predicted.
The gameplay of Fall Guys is simplistic yet brilliant. Full matches last only a half-hour or so, but they can also be as short as just five minutes if a player falls short. Players must attempt a series of challenges and or obstacle-like courses against other real-life opponents online and attempt to be the last player standing, as each match kicks out players who did not make the cut from the previous round. The fun is in the chaos of the challenges mixed with the physics of the game itself, along with the players attempting to outdo themselves each time.
What is great about the Fall Guys is that failing is just as funny as winning is glorious. The fact that 300,000 watched streamer TimTheTatman get his first Crown after failing countless times proves this fact. The slapstick-like comedy of Fall Guys is a part of its charm, as is the "one-more-try" type gameplay that it provides.
Perhaps one of the most brilliant decisions from developer Mediatonic and publisher Devolver Digital was to put Fall Guys on PlayStation Plus at launch. Some games will come to the platform months after the game releases, but Fall Guys hoped to replicate the success of Rocket Leauge with PlayStation Plus, and that certainly appeared to be the case. There was some levels of excitement leading up to the launch of the game, but the momentum created from PlayStation Plus allowed Fall Guys to catapult itself into a whole new level of popularity.
Fall Guys continued to dominate PS Plus weeks after the release of the title. Fall Guys in it of itself is a fun experience, but there is no shame in allowing a game to have a head start through a platform such as PS Plus where millions can jump in for free and get the train rolling, share the experience with friends, etc. This translated seemingly exactly how Mediatonic and Devolver Digital wanted — and then some.
After it was all said and done, Fall Guys was the most downloaded PS Plus game of all time. This did not only allow the game to be attached to PlayStation in a special way, it also helped keep the game atop streams, constantly in the mindshare of gamers and on social media. It also allowed the game to sell very well even outside of the "free" space that is PS Plus once it exited the service.
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The fact that the game launched on PS Plus and had a jumpstart in terms of success has led to sales profit, not only on the PlayStation but on other platforms. Developer Mediatonic revealed that the PC version of Fall Guys sold 11 million copies in just four months. This has continued beyond that four-month window, and this momentum will likely help when Fall Guys comes to other platforms.
The result of such a prosperous game was that Mediatonic and Fall Guys was purchased by Epic Games. The acquisition by the video game company was seen as an investment by Epic Games because Fall Guys went from somewhat of an unknown commodity to a video game giant. Mediatonic promises that it still is able to have autonomy over decision-making in terms of developing the game how it wants to, but now it has even more financial support than ever.
Along with being a hit on streams, downloads, and copies sold, Fall Guys was also a well-received game that won awards in its first year. 2020 was a fantastic year in gaming, filled with quite a few surprises in fact, but Fall Guys and its good-natured fun was among the games that left the biggest impact. Fall Guys won best community support at The Game Awards 2020, for example, and that support has continued through 2021.
Moving forward and beyond this one-year anniversary, Mediatonic and Devolver Digital have plenty of plans to continue to support this slime-filled fun-fest. Beyond even the creative crossover skins for Fall Guys, the new seasons for the game also bring fresh content and new mini-games that alter the experience in unique ways. Based on everything explained by the team thus far, that type of support appears to be the plan moving forward.
Another big exciting change coming to the game for fans is that Fall Guys is in development for the Switch and Xbox. Of course, with the game launching on PS Plus, some wondered if and when the game would come to other consoles. At this time the exact date is unknown, as the versions were delayed until later in 2021, but the beans will be stumbling their way to Xbox and Switch in the near future.
Along with coming to those new platforms, crossplay is coming to Fall Guys. It will be exciting to be able to play Fall Guys with friends across the Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC. This feature also has the potential to help with things such as matchmaking times.
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The news does not have to end with more platforms and crossplay. There have been rumors that Fall Guys could eventually come to Xbox Game Pass. Earlier this year, the Instagram page of Xbox Game Pass may have leaked that Fall Guys would be headed to the service, even if the official Twitter page of Fall Guys quickly shot that down. It could have been that the information was simply wrong, or it could have been that someone got a bit too excited and announced something a tad too early. If Fall Guys did come to Xbox Game Pass, it may provide the game a similar jolt that it received when it launched on PlayStation Plus, but now with a brand new audience.
Fall Guys may not be quite at the apex of popularity that it was around the first month or so after it first launched, but looking back at its first year, not many would have expected the game to do this well. The game burst onto the scene in a way that few others have, broke records on many accounts, and looks to have a bright future with continued support and its release on more platforms. The one-year anniversary of Fall Guys is a great opportunity to celebrate what has been and look forward to what is yet to come.
Fall Guys is out now on PC and PlayStation 4, with Switch and Xbox versions currently in development.