Frostpunk 1886 Is a Remake of the First Game Due Out 2027, Dev Insists It Will Continue to Update Frostpunk 2

11 bit studios has recently unveiled Frostpunk 1886, a highly anticipated remake of their original game, scheduled for release in 2027. This announcement comes just over six months after the launch of Frostpunk 2, showcasing the studio's dedication to expanding the Frostpunk universe. With the first Frostpunk released back in 2018, the upcoming remake marks nearly a decade since the inception of this gripping series.

Frostpunk is a city-building survival video game set in an alternate late 19th-century world, engulfed by a volcanic winter. Players are tasked with building and maintaining a city, managing resources, making survival-oriented decisions, and exploring the surrounding areas for survivors and valuable resources.

IGN's review of the original Frostpunk awarded it a solid 9/10, praising its unique blend of thematic elements and gameplay: “Frostpunk deftly mixes a variety of thematic ideas and gameplay elements into an engaging and unique, if occasionally unintuitive, strategy game.” On the other hand, Frostpunk 2 received an 8/10, with IGN noting: "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 studios has confirmed their ongoing commitment to Frostpunk 2, promising free major content updates, a console launch, and additional DLCs, even as they embark on the development of Frostpunk 1886. The studio's move away from their proprietary Liquid Engine, which powered both the original Frostpunk and This War of Mine, to the more advanced Unreal Engine 5, signifies a significant step forward in realizing their vision for the franchise.

"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 explained.

The new project, Frostpunk 1886, named to honor a crucial moment in the game's universe when the Great Storm hit New London, is not just a visual upgrade. It will expand on the original game's core with new content, mechanics, laws, and an exciting new Purpose path, offering a fresh experience to both new and veteran 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,” the studio added.

11 bit studios envisions a future where both Frostpunk 2 and Frostpunk 1886 will evolve in tandem, each contributing to the overarching narrative of survival in a relentless cold.

Simultaneously, the studio is diligently working on The Alters, slated for release in June, further expanding their portfolio of thought-provoking games.