Fallout Shelter Arrives On Android

Fallout Shelter, the mobile game set in the same world as Fallout 4, is no longer exclusive to iOS. Starting today, Android users can download and play it as well.

In Fallout Shelter, players must oversee an underground Vault to survive the post-apocalypse. It's their job to manage the Vault's dwellers, help them survive and keep them happy. They must also build facilities to help the Vault succeed.

Controlling vault dwellers is one of the big thrills of the game. Players can assign jobs to their vault dwellers that make the best use of their skills. These dwellers can then be further improved with training and equipment. The hardier souls can be sent off into the wasteland above to find loot but there's a chance they won't make it back alive. To boost the Vault's population, players can pair off male and female dwellers so they can reproduce.

Players will also have to contend with various calamities. Raiders and irradiated creatures will try to attack the Vault. A fire could break out inside the facility. Managing these disasters in addition to the day-to-day operations of the Vault provides another level of challenge to the gamer.

Fallout Shelter is free to download and play. The game makes its money off the optional purchase of Lunchboxes. Lunchboxes, also attainable through gameplay, include in-game rewards like items or resources.

Many players have opted to spend cash on these Lunchboxes. Two weeks after Fallout Shelter launched on iOS devices, the game earned over $5 million.

Since its initial debut, Fallout Shelter has added a couple characters from Fallout 4. Your potential vault dwellers now include Preston Garvey, a Commonwealth Minuteman featured in an early quest, as well as robot butler Mister Handy.

In spite of these connections between the games, it's unclear whether playing Fallout Shelter will benefit you in Fallout 4 at all. Bethesda hasn't said it would, mind you, but it's common for mobile games to provide some kind of bonus for its companion game. For example, Dying Light's mobile game lets you transfer loot to the PS4/Xbox One/PC game.