Fallen Earth

Did You Know?

• Fallen Earth earned the runner-up spot for Best New MMO of 2009 by Beckett Massive Online Gamer.
• The game won the Best Online-Only Game of 2009 award by Game Industry News.
• Fallen Earth has been criticised by IGN for low-quality animation and by other reviewers for numerous bugs.

Plot

The story begins in the 21st century with natural disasters hitting the United States. Investment tycoon Brenhauer buys a controlling stake in GlobalTech, moving its headquarters to the Grand Canyon Province by 2051. Meanwhile, the Shiva virus appears in India and Pakistan, causing dance-like convulsions. Political paranoia leads to nuclear conflict, devastating the United States. Less than one percent of Earth's population survived the Fall. The Hoover Dam Garrison and Grand Canyon Province are the only known outposts of civilization. Outside the Garrison, players encounter ruins, genetically altered creatures, strange technology, and six warring factions with differing goals.

Gameplay

The game world is based on a real-world topographical map of the Grand Canyon, covering over 1000 square kilometers of usable terrain. The environment is zoneless and divided into sectors that continue the story-arc, which players can advance through at their own pace. Fallen Earth includes first-person and third-person views, a classless system, Player-versus-Player combat, mounted combat, crafting, and a noise-based stealth system. Character customization includes clothing, facial features, skin tones, hairstyles and colors, age, body and facial hair, body art, height, and makeup. After customization, players add points to build strength and other skills. The game uses skill-based character development with no fixed class system. Active skills—trade-skills and mutation-based skills—can be increased through Advancement Points or skill usage. Advancement Points are earned alongside level experience and can also boost Attributes. Players can undo and re-spec their skill point allocation. Combat is generally in first-person shooter format, with the camera able to switch between third and first person. Players must manually keep targets in a targeting reticle; there is no target locking. Damage methods are broken down by weapon effective range: rifles for long distance, pistols for medium to short range, and melee for close-quarters. Thousands of items, equipment, and accessories can be crafted and equipped in up to 22 separate slots. Heavier equipment offers higher defense but increases noise, making stealth more difficult.

Development

In June 2008, the developers announced the game had reached feature-complete status. By October 2008, it was reported as content-complete. Alpha testing began in August 2008, and closed beta testing in February 2009. A National Tour was announced in February 2009, sponsoring IGDA meetings and participating in events across the United States. The game was released on September 22, 2009, with pre-orders granting early access from September 9, 2009. On March 10, 2010, Icarus Studios announced the beta release of Fallen Earth for Mac OS X, using Wine technology. On April 5, 2010, Lee Hammock left to work on a new MMO title, Gargantuan. On April 30, 2010, CEO James Hettinger announced a restructure, promoting Wes Platt to Director of Content Development. On May 4, 2010, a new distribution partnership with Interactive Gaming Software was announced. In June 2011, GamersFirst purchased the intellectual property, and the game became free to play in October 2011. Servers were taken offline in October 2019, then brought back online by Little Orbit subsidiary Gamersfirst on October 27, 2021.