11 bit studios has announced Frostpunk 1886, a remake of the first game due out in 2027.
The Polish developer is using Unreal Engine 5 for this project, which it has revealed just over half a year after Frostpunk 2 came out. The first Frostpunk launched in 2018, so assuming the remake does come out in 2027, it’ll be nearly a decade on.
Frostpunk is a city-building survival video game set in an alternate history late 19th century. You build and maintain a city during a worldwide volcanic winter, managing resources, making choices on how to survive, and exploring the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items.
IGN’s Frostpunk review returned a 9/10. We said: “Frostpunk deftly mixes a variety of thematic ideas and gameplay elements into an engaging and unique, if occasionally unintuitive, strategy game.”
Frostpunk 2 fared a little less well in IGN’s review, getting an 8/10. We said: “Thanks to a ground-up rethinking of its ice-age city builder mechanics, Frostpunk 2’s larger scale is less intimate but more socially and politically complex than the original.”
11 bit insisted it still plans to update Frostpunk 2 with DLC and plans for the console launch remain, while working on Frostpunk 1886.
“With the studio’s proprietary Liquid Engine, which powered not only the original Frostpunk but also This War of Mine, no longer in development, the team has long sought a new foundation to carry forward the legacy of the first game,” 11 bit said.
“While Frostpunk 2 continues to forge ahead with free major content updates, a console launch, and DLCs, this newly announced project marks a return to the franchise’s roots, offering both newcomers and longtime citizens of New London an evolved take on the harsh, morally challenging survival experience that started it all.
“But Frostpunk 1886 — so titled to honour a pivotal moment in the timeline of the universe, when the Great Storm descended upon New London — is no mere visual overhaul. It builds upon the core of the original, expanding it with new content, mechanics, laws, and — perhaps most excitingly — an entirely new Purpose path, offering a fresh experience even for the most seasoned players.
“Reimagining Frostpunk in Unreal Engine also allows the game to become a living, expandable platform, bringing with it long-awaited mod support — a community request that was previously impossible to realize due to technical limitations of the original engine — as well as the possibility to add future DLC content.”
11 bit studios said its fans can “look forward to a future where Frostpunk 2 and Frostpunk 1886 evolve side by side — two paths forged in parallel, each carrying the vision of survival into unrelenting cold.”
The studio is also working on The Alters, which is due out in June.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
