This time last year, the world was officially introduced to Fall Guys, an entirely new take on the battle royale genre that pulled inspiration from iconic TV shows such as Takeshi's Castle and Total Wipeout. As soon as Fall Guys launched as a free game on PS Plus last August – a model other games have followed since – its popularity went through the roof. This isn't particularly surprising when you consider that Fall Guys is essentially a free-to-play game show with remarkably approachable controls designed to facilitate plug-and-play for pretty much anyone, regardless of skill or prior experience.
Fall Guys was always going to be an instant hit, although developer Mediatonic couldn't have possibly foreseen just how big a hit it would become. The servers were so overwhelmed on day one that not many people actually got to try Fall Guys the first day it was available. It was full steam ahead after that though – so much so that Fall Guys became the most downloaded PS Plus game ever, a record it still holds to this day. That's not to mention everyone who bought the game on PC.
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Fall Guys' momentum continued on for a little while after its time on PS Plus came to an end, largely due to the fact everyone who downloaded it for free was still playing. That initial wave was never going to last forever, though, and eventually Fall Guys' player count experienced a steep drop-off. The thing is, Mediatonic was prepared for that. Well, actually, it wasn't prepared for the initial massive influx of players in the first place, as evidenced by its aforementioned unprepared servers on day one. Still, it's basically the same thing.
Odds are the drop-off resulted in Fall Guys' active player count settling around where Mediatonic originally expected it to be to begin with. However, barring the start of new seasons – which always see a spike in new and returning players – it feels like Fall Guys' creators have been doing very little to make sure the game stands the test of time. Then again, barring switching the levels around and adding new skins, there isn't really much you can do to entice lapsed players to come back.
New players and new platforms should be Mediatonic's aim as Fall Guys turns one, and it very much will be. The imminent arrival of the game on Xbox and Nintendo Switch has already been announced. It was thought those arrivals would be here by now, but both have been pushed back to a yet-to-be-announced date. The arrival of Fall Guys on both platforms could elevate the game to the same level of popularity it reached last summer, especially if it's offered as a free-to-play title for a limited time on Switch – which worked wonders with Among Us – or added to Game Pass for Xbox.
Whether intentional or not, Fall Guys' staggered launch and PlayStation console exclusivity may work in its favor in the long run. If today were the anniversary of Fall Guys' arrival on all platforms, the game may well have been played out with no big milestones to look forward to. One year on, its arrival on Switch and Xbox is a big deal still to come. It also remains an incredibly unique game that hasn't spawned a bunch of similar, watered-down rip-offs.
Fall Guys might not have been the genre-altering game it appeared to be 12 months ago, but it's still a great and cheap alternative to every other BR game out there, even when it isn't free. There's still the possibility of Fall Guys coming to mobile in the future too – perhaps that's being saved for the game's second birthday, eh?
Here's hoping the second wave of Fall Guys keeps the momentum going long enough that the start of year number three is sufficiently significant to celebrate 12 months from now. After all, everybody loves weird little beans kicking each other of see saws and whirlygigs.
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