The success of films and television series based on games like Fallout and Borderlands can of course be measured by viewing figures, but game sales also say something.
Borderlands is almost certain to be one of the biggest flops of the year, if not recent memory. Its initial Rotten Tomatoes rating of 0% set the tone for a film that almost immediately became a punchline (at the time of this writing, Borderlands is at a better, but still alarming 9%).
However, there are other ways to measure the success of a video game, as revealed by TikTok user UltraOZU, who runs a retro game store and highlighted a major difference between Borderlands and other video games like Prime Video’s Fallout.
According to the TikToker, his retro game store is currently full of copies of the Borderlands games. In comparison, the Fallout and Twisted Metal games sold out quickly when their respective shows began, and he held up what he describes as the first copy of Fallout: New Vegas the store has received in months.
It highlights the larger problem with the Borderlands movie: Even among those who like it, no one seems to really care. Fans don’t leave the theater to play the games that inspired the movie.
It doesn’t seem to be a case of digital versus physical, either. Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition and Borderlands 3 are seeing some increase in player numbers (according to Steam tracking website SteamDB), but they’re nowhere near the server implosion numbers that Fallout 76 saw after the Prime Video series debuted.
While the film series seems to be on the rocks, there is at least some good news for fans of the game, as it seems that a fourth installment is in the pipeline. The film has currently grossed less than $20 million on a budget of over $110 million.
If you want to learn more about Borderlands, you can read all about the film’s most obscure Easter eggs or its soundtrack.
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