'Fallout Shelter' Is About to Get a Whole Lot Better

Last June, Bethesda Softworks gave its fans a big surprise at E3 when they made the virtually unheard of move to both announce and launch a major game — the well-received Fallout 4 — inside of six months. The developer went another step by releasing a free-to-play mobile builder, Fallout Shelter, a neat little mobile title designed to keep Fallout fans from losing their shit in anticipation of the major console release.

Of course, the game’s release had the added benefit of making Bethesda just bucketloads of money. A mere three days after it’s June 14, 2015 release date, Eurogamer reported that Fallout Shelter was making more money than Candy Crush Saga thanks to some cleverly designed in-app purchases. While Shelter’s specific profits remain tantalizing vague, it was once reported that Candy Crush was raking in more than $2 million a day at one point.

Fallout Shelter is pretty straightforward in its design, aping some of the features found in previous mobile titles like Tiny Tower. Essentially, players are tasked with building a Vault-Tec shelter like the ones found in nearly every Fallout game. The only difference is that rather than running a horrific experiment that bends the laws of morality, players are actually expected to meet the needs of their growing population.

You’ll need to make sure there’s power, clean water, and defenses if you hope to survive, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Animated in Fallout’s signature style, the surprisingly deep builder was a welcome surprise, not only because it’s super fun to play, but because it’s also conquerable without having to spend a dime (a rare occurrence in mobile games these days).

Given the initial success of Fallout Shelter, an update and an expansion for the mobile title was inevitable. That inevitability got a release window today, and in keeping with Bethesda’s recent (hopefully trendsetting) tradition, it’s going to happen pretty much right away.

Avid users or returning vault dwellers will get a slew of new features, including more pets like parrots, more outfits, and a barbershop for increased dweller customization. Those are just the aesthetic touches, though. The update will also mark the inclusion of “junk,” which can be used to craft weapons and armor for your dwellers.

If you’ve taken a few months off from Fallout Shelter to play it’s triple-A cousin, now might just be a good time to rebuild your operation.