Rebellion Developments might've just found its next long-term franchise in Atomfall, a survival-action RPG that launched in March 2025 and quickly turned heads.
Despite launching alongside heavyweights like Assassin's Creed Shadows and Split Fiction, the game managed to become one of Rebellion's most successful releases to date.
According to CEO Jason Kingsley, Atomfall has the potential to evolve into something bigger, but the team needs to find the resources to make it happen. Kingsley didn't hesitate to acknowledge Atomfall's strong debut. He described it as performing well above their mid-range sales estimates and even better than some of their internal "high-end" projections.
A major factor in this success is Rebellion's bold move to try something new with an IP they typically wouldn't back. Despite the fierce competition, it hit 2 million players within weeks. Kingsley believes launching the game on Xbox Game Pass from day one was one of their best moves.
He praised Microsoft as a partner, crediting their involvement with giving Atomfall the visibility it needed to break through. Even if the game had flopped in terms of raw sales, Rebellion would still receive guaranteed income from the platform. The structure allowed the studio to explore creative avenues while keeping its finances secure.
Despite Atomfall's success, Kingsley keeps his feet on the ground. Rebellion is not a studio with AAA-scale funding. They operate with what he calls a "mid-range" approach—larger than indies but far from blockbuster budgets. Every game they produce has to make financial sense, so they stay focused and disciplined.
They're not out here spending $200 million on development cycles, and Kingsley makes it clear: they can't afford to. That's why the decision to turn Atomfall into a series isn't as simple as "it did well, let's make more." It comes down to whether the studio has enough people and budget to support another big project on top of their existing ones.
Kingsley mentioned that Rebellion already has a pattern in place—two-thirds of their projects focus on sequels, while one-third experiments with new ideas. Initially considered a "risky" idea, Atomfall has done so well that it's on track to join the sequel category alongside Sniper Elite and Zombie Army.
Behind the scenes, the team is already exploring ways to expand on Atomfall. Kingsley admitted that the game was something of a passion project for him—an idea he'd been toying with for nearly a decade. Given that it's been confirmed, he's obviously looking to expand the universe.
However, nothing's been confirmed yet, and he mentions that it will all come down to whether Rebellion can secure the necessary resources while balancing ambition with practicality.
With over 500 full-time employees, Rebellion has the manpower—but not quite enough to build everything on the wishlist at once.
This has the makings of something big—maybe a sequel or even a whole franchise if things align.