Fallout TV show only works in binge format, here's why

The Fallout TV show has sparked a debate among viewers: Is it better to binge the entire season on day one or take your time with weekly episodes?

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The new Fallout TV show on Amazon Prime is an example of incredible execution. The entire transmedia campaign was clearly planned out from the get-go by people who A) know their audience, B) care about the franchise, and C) have a bunch of products at the ready. The Fallout show is a huge success, but it only works because of the engagement firestorm that is binge culture.

I've seen a few articles criticizing the Fallout show's binge format. This thinking is a bit myopic and loses sight of why the Fallout show actually exists in the first place: To shine a lighthouse beacon on the Fallout games. The Amazon show brought Fallout front and center, exposing the post-apocalyptic franchise to Prime's 200 million subscribers.

The binge format accelerates Fallout and feeds into the habits of these kinds of viewers; if you binge watch the entire Fallout TV show, odds are you might also binge a play session in a Fallout game.

The Fallout show is meant to be a gateway to the series. You watch the show, and after you're done, odds are you'll probably want to keep engaging with the franchise. What better way to do that than forge your own path in the wasteland via an interactive game?

It just so happens that Bethesda and Microsoft have seven Fallout games at the ready for you to spend time and money on:

• Fallout
• Fallout 2
• Fallout 3
• Fallout New Vegas
• Fallout Shelter
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76

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And spend time and money consumers have. According to Steam DB, a tracker that posts up numbers from Valve's PC platform, every Fallout game on Steam saw an uptick in players after the show went live.

The Fallout show wasn't meant to be a suspenseful serialized experience--it's not Game of Thrones, or a funnel that guides you into any one kind of outlet. The show was specifically designed to take advantage of binge culture with the hopes of stratospheric levels of engagement, hype, and buzz. This transmedia campaign was intended to have a snowball effect where viewers can gain more and more momentum as they discover more games, content, and lore, expanding outward as they gain speed in the ecosystem.