A new update has been released for the nine-year-old video game Fallout 4, the first of its kind for the hit title since 2017.

It follows the roaring success of the Fallout TV show, which this month became the most-watched programme on Amazon Prime Video, overtaking both The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm. Game publisher Bethesda issued free next-generation iterations for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, to boost graphics, frame rates and fix bugs.

PlayStation players are the biggest winners from the update, as the Xbox Series X already upscales graphics and framerates of older titles, while PC gaming giant AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution product achieves the same effect. The release of the TV show has propelled Fallout game titles back into the Top Sellers category on the PC game platform Steam, with two Fallout games in the top 10 most-sold, with Fallout New Vegas even beating Call of Duty Warzone (which is free), at time of writing.

HBO's smash hit, The Last Of Us, based on Sony Interactive Entertainment's platinum intellectual property raised the bar for future game adaptations, but producers breathed a sigh of relief when pre-release reviews were universally positive. The franchise is a jewel in the crown of publisher Bethesda, which was purchased by Xbox in a $7.5bn (£6bn) acquisition in 2021.

Other popular titles include The Elder Scrolls and their latest release Starfield. The Fallout story begins in 1997 when the first iteration was released by a North American publisher, Interplay, on Windows MS-DOS to critical acclaim and successful sales.

Fallout 2 followed just a year later (developed in a third of the time of its predecessor) to an equally positive reception and was deemed to be a worthy successor. Read more from Sky News:'Game-changing' skin cancer jab could prevent three other cancersSpaceport hoping to launch 30 rockets a year gets crucial licenceMost plant-based meat and dairy alternatives have lower saturated fat and higher fibre The award-winning move to 3D The first-ever 3D version came in 2008 following the partial sale of the Fallout IP to Bethesda, in the form of Fallout 3.

It beat the sales records of both its predecessors in the first week alone, and received outstanding reviews across the board. By the end of the following year, Fallout 3 had won multiple awards, and in 2012, was displayed in The Art of Video Games exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, earning the franchise a permanent place in the public's cultural consciousness.

The notable spin-off Fallout: New Vegas was released swiftly afterwards, quickly cementing itself as a fan favourite. Following the release of the TV programme, New Vegas is currently out-selling Diablo IV, Elden Ring and Grand Theft Auto V on Steam.

Fallout 4 was released in 2015 to a mixed but largely positive reception, introducing some new features such as base-building and managed to please a majority of players. 'Historically bad' and 'pointless' release Then Bethesda published Fallout 76.

The first 3D multiplayer outing for Fallout ever released also turned out to be the most controversial. It drew criticism from the press and players alike.

Game-breaking bugs, an initial lack of content and poor design - coupled with a fanbase who were more accustomed to the single-player format, made it a victim to '"review-bombing". Forbes called it a "historically bad launch.