Paradox Development Studio's first original setting in ten years; trailer revealed at Opening Night Live
Stockholm/Cologne — August 25, 2026 — Strategy and management game developer and publisher Paradox Interactive today announced Afterworld, a new grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studio, coming soon to PC. Set in an original post-apocalyptic North America filled with dangerous terrain, ruins of the old world, and desperate remnants of humanity, players will lead a small group of survivors on a journey to build a continent-spanning empire, facing strategic challenges and moral crises.
Watch the Afterworld trailer, premiering today on Opening Night Live:
Afterworld is a new grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studio, developers of Crusader Kings III and Hearts of Iron IV, featuring a deep and story-rich post-apocalyptic setting. Lead your survivors to unite, define the spirit of your tribe, and build your empire. Easy to learn but hard to survive, the game grows from a small, accessible start into a rich and complex strategic experience, just as you'd expect from a Paradox game.
"Afterworld is Paradox's first non-historical title in ten years, and I can't wait to see what stories players tell with it," said Dan Lind, Game Director for Afterworld at Paradox Development Studio. "This is the first world we've built from the ground up in a long time, and the first time we've had the privilege of destroying it before the game even begins. Fragments of the old world remain scattered, waiting to be discovered. What happens next is entirely up to the player."
Afterworld places players in a procedurally generated post-apocalyptic North America, creating a unique strategic sandbox with emergent stories each time you play. Players first face the challenge of scavenging for food, water, and shelter while rediscovering the basics of civilization; then make tough decisions about laws and ethics for their growing tribes; and finally confront other rising empires to determine the fate of the continent.
Key Features of Afterworld:
Reborn in the wasteland, explore a new civilization
• Begin your journey as a vault dweller crawling out of a decaying nuclear shelter, a zealot searching for a goddess in the dust plains, or one of several other optional origins. Establish your first settlement in the wasteland and decide what kind of people your community will become.
• Scavenge for food, water, and fuel in a deadly environment. Hunt for scarce resources, stretching your group's meager strength even thinner; yet under your guidance, they will master new skills and methods to refine the lost riches of this land.
• Explore a procedurally generated North America. The terrain and landmarks may feel familiar, but resources, tribes, and threats are different every time. Each playthrough is a fresh strategic sandbox full of emergent stories.
• Rediscover lost technologies through exploration. Afterworld's dynamic tech tree unlocks new advancements based on your actual discoveries and experiences. Encounter a river and learn irrigation. Meet a new tribe and discover organized religion. Your actions shape the possible futures of your society.
• Organize caravans and supply lines to exploit newly discovered wealth, or migrate your entire people when the land runs dry. Your initial settlement may not remain your capital forever, and raiding rivals is always an option.
March together or fight alone
• Decide who to trust. Encounter hostile tribes, negotiate trades, absorb wandering clans into your growing nation, or take what you need by force. Others are both your greatest resource and your biggest threat.
• Draft the laws of a new society. Decide who gets scarce resources, who has a voice in leadership, and what your nation stands for. New discoveries and crises will constantly reshape your people's needs, forcing you to make difficult choices with no easy answers.
• Seek out powerful relics left behind by pre-Collapse technology, capable of rewriting the rules of what your nation can achieve—if you can claim them first. But beware: the same power that ended the old world can also end the new one.
• Conquer the dust plains alone or with others in competitive multiplayer or cooperative modes.
Defend your empire, reshape the world
• Expand across the rediscovered continent of North America. As territories fill up and resources dwindle, either form alliances or wage brutal wars for control of what remains. A second collapse is always just one bad decision away.
• Make choices that echo through generations. Thousands of lives depend on your decisions; a single food shortage can lead to famine, and one political misstep can tear your nation apart. How much are you willing to sacrifice to keep your empire intact?
• Uncover the buried history of the old world and face the moral weight of rebuilding. Ration critical resources, navigate the rise of new religions, and decide how your society treats mutants and cyborgs. Every crisis shapes the soul of your empire.
• Battle the Ancients—immortal leaders who used forgotten technology to survive the Collapse. They have their own vision of who should rule, and they won't step aside quietly.
• Define the true character of your empire and pursue your destiny. Will you revive old ways? Seek an enlightened path to avoid repeating past mistakes? Can your empire rise majestically from the ashes?
About Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive is a leading developer and publisher of strategy and management games for PC and consoles. With a global player base, its key markets include North America, Western Europe, and Asia. Its portfolio includes well-known series such as Stellaris, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, Cities: Skylines, Prison Architect, Surviving Mars, Age of Wonders, and Victoria. Additionally, Paradox Interactive owns the "World of Darkness" brand.