Following the leak, Paradox Interactive’s new strategy game was officially unveiled at Gamescom Opening Night Live.

Emerge from the ruins into a new age in Afterworld, a grand strategy game with a deep, story-rich post-apocalyptic setting, created by Paradox Development Studio, the makers of Crusader Kings III and Hearts of Iron IV. Band your survivors together, define the spirit of your tribe and establish your empire in a game that is easy to learn but hard to master. Starting from a small-scale, approachable beginning, it grows into a strategic experience as rich and complex as you would expect from a Paradox game. Afterworld begins with players in a procedurally generated North American wasteland, creating a new strategic sandbox full of emergent stories in every playthrough. Initially, players must face the challenges of scavenging for food, water and shelter while rediscovering basic civilised methods. Then they must make difficult choices about defining laws and ethics for their growing tribe. Ultimately, they will come head-to-head with other growing empires to decide the fate of the continent.

Start your journey as Shelterfolk, emerging from a failing nuclear bunker; Wayward Zealots, searching for their Goddess in the Dustlands; or one of several other playable Origins. Establish the first settlements in the wastelands and determine your destiny. Scrape together food, water and fuel in an environment intent on your destruction. Finding scarce resources will put a strain on your small group, but with your guidance, they will adapt and learn new skills and methods to harness the land’s lost riches. Explore a procedurally generated North America. While the terrain and geography will be familiar, the resources, tribes and threats will be different each time, creating a new strategic sandbox with emergent stories in every playthrough. Rediscover lost technology through exploration. The dynamic Ideas Tree in Afterworld unlocks new advances based on what you find and experience. Encounter a river and learn irrigation. Meet a new tribe and discover organised religion. Your actions determine what your society can become. You can organise convoys and supply lines to exploit newly discovered wealth, or migrate your entire band when the land runs dry. Your initial settlement may not remain your capital city, and raiding rivals is always an option.

Decide who to trust. Encounter rival gangs, negotiate trade deals, absorb wandering tribes into your growing nation or take what you need by force. Remember that other people are both your greatest resource and your greatest threat. Draft the laws of a new society. Decide who gets scarce goods, who earns a voice in leadership and what your nation stands for. New discoveries and crises will constantly reshape your people’s demands, forcing you to make tough decisions with no easy answers. Seek out the powerful remnants of pre-Fall technology that could rewrite the rules of what your nation is capable of — but be quick, as others will be seeking them out too. But be careful: the same power that ended the old world could also destroy the new. Conquer the Dustlands alone or with others in competitive multiplayer and co-op modes.

Expand across a rediscovered America. As territory is filled and resources are depleted, you must either forge alliances or fight brutal wars to control what remains. A second collapse is always just one bad decision away. Make choices that echo through the generations. With thousands of lives depending on you, a food shortage could lead to famine and a political misstep could fracture your nation. What will you sacrifice to keep your empire standing? Uncover the buried history of the old world and confront the moral implications of rebuilding it. Ration vital resources, navigate the emergence of new religions and determine how your society treats the mutated and augmented. Every crisis shapes the soul of your empire. Confront the Ancients: immortal leaders from before the Fall who are kept alive by forgotten technology. They have their own vision of who should rule and will not step aside quietly. Define your empire’s true character and seek your destiny. Will you reclaim the old ways? Or will you seek an enlightened path to avoid the mistakes of the past? Will your empire rise from the ashes?

Afterworld is still in development, and a release date has not yet been announced.

Source: Gematsu