The long-awaited sequel to Frostpunk, the popular strategy game that combines elements of survival, city-building, and the 4X genre, is almost here. Today’s Xbox Partner Preview event revealed that Frostpunk 2’s release date is set for July 25, 2024. and that it will also be available on day one on PC Games Pass
In addition to the release date, the brief Frostpunk trailer also contained pre-order info for the Deluxe Edition, which will offer access to a closed beta set to take place in April. The beta will feature part of the final release’s sandbox mode, which will offer players more flexibility in choosing their starting communities and factions.
The Digital Deluxe edition will include three paid post-release DLCs, access to the story mode 72 hours before the official release, and bonuses including a digital novella.
Frostpunk 2 will attempt to build on the popularity of the original game, which was a surprise hit when it was released back in 2018. Talking about the development team’s goals for the sequel, Frostpunk 2 co-director Jakub Stokalski wrote last year, “Frostpunk 2 is still a game about the City and its society. But this time the inner turmoils, sparked by rising social differences, mean that players will be facing new kinds of threads that are beyond the bare survival of the first time.”
In particular, he says, Frostpunk 2 will aim to “tell a meaningful story about human ambition, societies striving for their ideas, and the consequences of hard decisions which are not always respected by everyone.” Among other features, Frostpunk 2 will include factions like the “methodical Technocrats” and the Icebloods, who are “advocates of adaptation over development.”
We wrote in our review of the original Frostpunk, “Even though the bleakness is palpable, Frostpunk is a captivating experience. The gameplay is unique and varied, using the best aspects of city-building and survival games, with a little exploration mixed in. The story is engrossing and can go in a variety of ways based on the choices you make. All of this is relayed through outstanding aesthetics and graphical design that make staring at a frozen wasteland more appealing than you’d expect. Most original, though, are the ethical quandaries that Frostpunk raises, forcing you to balance the needs of individual and survival of the city without sacrificing your humanity.”
Frostpunk is currently available on Xbox and PlayStation 4, but console players will have to wait a little longer for the sequel to arrive on their platform of choice. Frostpunk 2’s console version is currently listed for a “later date,” though 11 bit studios did confirm that it will be coming to Xbox Game Pass.
For more, check out everything announced at the Xbox Partner Preview 2024.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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