Frostpunk 2

Frostpunk 2 is an upcoming city-building survival video game developed and published by 11 Bit Studios. Set 30 years after the original game, Frostpunk 2 tasks players to take on the role of a leader in an alternate history early 20th century in order to build and manage a city during a catastrophic, worldwide volcanic winter that almost completely destroyed human civilization while making morally and politically controversial choices to ensure its survival. The game is set to be released for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S on September 20, 2024.

Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Frostpunk 2 is a city-building survival video game. Set in New London 30 years after the "Great Storm" of the original game, the game explores the consequences of the advent of the petroleum industry and players assume the role of the city's new leader, called "the Steward", replacing the now deceased "Captain", who was the player character of the original game. The city is struggling with overpopulation, food and coal shortages, among other issues. Unlike the original game, Frostpunk 2 allows players to build a much larger city. Players can now construct districts instead of individual buildings. Each district serves a particular function, such as providing food, energy, or shelter. Specific buildings can be placed in each district to unlock additional functions. Each district, however, also costs players resources, and players need to plan the design of their cities before expanding.

As the city expands, the player will meet different factions which often have conflicting ideals. Players can access the Idea Tree to investigate new research options. In the Idea tree allows players to explore different ideas proposed by the game's various factions to solve a problem. Adopting a faction's idea may upset other factions and communities. Unlike the first game, the citizens of New London are more involved in the policy-process making. At the Council hall, 100 members of the community, each representing a certain faction, will cast vote on laws proposed by the player. Players can choose to negotiate with different council members, and they need to reach a certain threshold before a new law can be passed. Negotiation, however, requires players to make specific promises for the future, and not being able to uphold them may further upset a certain faction. Unlike the previous game, time in the game is measured in months and years. As players progress in the game, radicals may grow within each faction, and players must work to counter their influence to avoid the city from descending into chaos.

In addition to the main story campaign, the game also features a sandbox mode named "Utopia Builder". It allows players to choose the starting communities and factions. The team added that the sandbox mode will have more replay value than the one found in the original game.

Development
Similar to the first game, Frostpunk 2 was developed by 11 Bit Studios. A team of about 70 people worked on the game's development and production. While the original game was about enduring and surviving an apocalypse, the sequel focused more on keeping a city prosperous, building for a better future, and adapting to new set of challenges and circumstances. According to game director Jakub Stokalski, while extreme temperature and other natural hazards may still lead to a city's collapse, "social survival is even more important" and mismanging the populace, and not being able to satisfy the demands of various factions may lead to "tension and conflict". Stokalski added that "Frostpunk 2 is really about this observation that we can only come together so far to overcome the obstacles in front of us, and that ultimately the biggest enemy is always human nature". The team took inspirations from stories of towns and cities rebuilding following a period of hardships.

11 Bit Studios announced Frostpunk 2 in August 2021. Early previews of the game revealed the Utopia mode, a sandbox building mode, as the studio expected it to become the most requested feature by the community. The game was initially set to be released for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S on July 25, 2024.

On March 18, 2024, the 11 bit studios team announced the release of a pre-release version of the game for owners of the Deluxe version, which includes the ability to install and run the game in sandbox mode before the main release date. Later that year, on June 27, the game developers announced that the launch date had been postponed to September 20, 2024, following the early access feedback, which led to new additions to the game mechanics.