Video Games Encyclopedia

Frostpunk is a 2018 city-building survival video game developed and published by 11 Bit Studios. Players take on the role of a leader in an alternate history set in the late 19th century, in which they must build and maintain a city during a worldwide mass cooling event, possibly caused by a volcanic winter. The player manages resources, makes choices on how to survive, and explores the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items. The game features several scenarios to undertake, each with its own stories and different challenges. The main campaign adopts a three-act structure, requiring players to grapple with internal conflict and societal turmoil in a divided city and survive a great storm that threatens to overwhelm the city, making sacrifices and morally grey ethical decisions along the way.

Frostpunk was 11 Bit Studios‘ next project following This War of Mine (2014), the unexpected success of which prompted the studio to focus on creating what it called “meaningful entertainment”. The studio was more ambitious with the game’s scale and scope, with more than 60 team members working on the game. Unlike This War of Mine, which focuses on an individual’s struggles, Frostpunk explores issues faced by society as a whole and whether or not players are willing to challenge their beliefs and morals in times of adversity. The team was inspired by Jacek Dukaj’s novel Ice (2007) as well as reports of near-death experiences, such as accounts from early polar explorers and survivors of the Andes flight disaster.