The studio behind Crusader Kings and Hearts of Iron just revealed its first non-historical title in a decade — Afterworld is a new strategy game set in an original post-apocalyptic America

• August 25, 2026

• Paradox Interactive has revealed the upcoming grand strategy game Afterworld
• It’s set in a post-apocalyptic America that players can attempt to rebuild
• It’s intended to be the studio’s most “easy to learn” and “approachable” title yet

Paradox Interactive has revealed Afterworld, an upcoming post-apocalyptic title that looks like the perfect cross between franchises like Fallout or Mad Max and the company’s popular grand strategy games.

Created by Paradox Development Studio, the same team behind Crusader Kings 3 and Hearts of Iron 4, Afterworld takes place in an entirely original vision of post-apocalyptic North America filled with resources to exploit, territory to conquer, and rival groups to trade resources, ally with, or wage war against.

Initially, the game is all about building up some semblance of civilization by creating a home and choosing the laws and ethics of your tribe, with the scale gradually developing until you’re going head-to-head with other emerging powers to decide the fate of the continent.

Different playable factions let you start your story as everything from apocalypse survivors that have just emerged from a hidden vault to fanatical zealots already familiar with the brutal new world.

“This is the first world we’ve gotten to build from scratch in a long time, and the first one we’ve had the pleasure of destroying before the game starts,” explained game director Dan Lind.

“The old world is still out there in fragments, waiting to be found. What comes after it is entirely up to the players.”

With its “small-scale” starting hours, Afterworld is intended to be the studio’s most “easy to learn” and “approachable” title yet — which is good news given the complex systems of games like Hearts of Iron 4 can be incredibly tricky to pick up.

This doesn’t mean that surviving is going to be easy, though: the world is full of dangerous old technology and unknown horrors. It’s also home to the Ancients, immortal leaders that survived the apocalypse and now dominate the wasteland.

It also sounds like there is going to be a lot of depth, with the developer promising that the experience “as rich and complex” as fans have “come to expect” from its games.

Afterworld doesn’t have a release date yet, but can wishlist it on Steam today.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

Paradox Interactive has revealed the upcoming grand strategy game Afterworld It’s set in a post-apocalyptic America that players can attempt to rebuild It’s intended to be the studio’s most “easy to learn” and “approachable” title yet Paradox Interactive has revealed Afterworld, an upcoming post-apocalyptic title that looks like the perfect…