ICBM

Lore & Background

ICBM was released in 2020 by Slitherine Software, developed by SoftWarWare and K-Project. The game focuses on the strategic management of nuclear arsenals, tasking players with researching technologies, building stockpiles, and launching attacks while defending their own population. Its gameplay was compared by Wargamer to the 2006 game DEFCON, with the reviewer noting that despite good aspects and ideas, the game lacked depth. PCMag also compared it to DEFCON, giving it a rating of four out of five, describing the graphics as satisfactory and the user interface as simple and understandable. The same review expressed a desire for more variety in scenarios and more interesting tutorials.

Reader's Guide

ICBM occupies a niche in the real-time strategy landscape of the 2020s as a title centered on nuclear warfare strategy. Its reception highlighted both its accessibility and its limitations: while the user interface was praised as simple and understandable, and the graphics deemed satisfactory, critics noted a lack of depth compared to earlier games like DEFCON. The game's significance lies in its focused premise—weighing nuclear warfare through technology research, stockpile building, and attack coordination—which appealed to players interested in strategic escalation and defense. However, the desire for more varied scenarios and engaging tutorials indicated that the core concept had room for expansion. This foundation led to a sequel, ICBM: Escalation, released on November 21, 2024, also developed by SoftWarWare and published by Slitherine Software. A subsequent alternate history DLC, ICBM: Escalation - Endless October, was released on May 27, 2025, featuring eleven missions spanning from 1950 to 2047, suggesting that the original game's framework successfully supported further content.

Did You Know?

• ICBM was developed by SoftWarWare and K-Project, and published by Slitherine Software in 2020.
• Wargamer compared ICBM to the 2006 game DEFCON, noting a lack of depth.
• PCMag gave ICBM a rating of four out of five, praising its simple user interface.

Development Origins & the Online Ambition

Shin Megami Tensei: Nine originated from staff discussions in 2001 about creating an online experience within the Megami Tensei universe. The project brought together established series veterans like producer Kouji Okada and demon designer Kazuma Kaneko, alongside newcomers such as character designer Yasuomi Umetsu and composers Masaki Kurokawa and Takahiro Ogata. What began as a unified online vision was eventually split into separate single-player and online components. The single-player version shipped for Xbox in 2002, but the online portion encountered significant development difficulties and was ultimately cancelled for that platform. Rather than being abandoned entirely, the online concept was reworked into a Microsoft Windows port, which would eventually materialize as a separate title called Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine. The commercial performance of the Xbox release fell short of Atlus' internal projections, and when combined with the substantial development costs, the project resulted in a financial loss for the publisher.

Combat & the Kilodevil Economy

Nine departed from the traditional turn-based structure of earlier Megami Tensei entries by placing combat in a real-time enclosed arena where battles progress automatically while the player issues commands to party members as their turns arrive. General offensive and defensive stances can be directed, alongside specific action commands. Notably, the game abandons the experience-point progression familiar to the series; instead, the protagonist's growth is tied to equipped jewels that modify strengths and stats. The demon-summoning mechanic introduces a unique kilodevil economy: each demon carries a kilodevil cost, and the player's total kilodevil budget determines how many can be active simultaneously. A player holding 100 kilodevil, for instance, could field two demons each rated at 50. To expand their roster, players can visit the Cathedral of Shadows to compress demons, halving their kilodevil values. Moon phases further complicate strategy by shifting demons' attitudes toward the player, and the classic negotiation and fusion systems remain central to building a powerful party.

Narrative Architecture & the Alignment Matrix

Set in the ambiguous year 202X, Nine bridges the gap between Shin Megami Tensei and its sequel, placing the player in the aftermath of Tokyo's ICBM destruction. Survivors have retreated into underground cities and constructed Idea Space, a virtual recreation of 1990s Tokyo. The protagonist, Kei Azuma by default, is recruited by the Central Administration Bureau as a Debugger tasked with repelling Noise—digitized demonic entities assaulting the virtual world. The narrative deepens when the true purpose of Idea Space is uncovered: it was engineered as a cloning substrate for a new humanity under the AI deity Maria, with most inhabitants being androids or data constructs. The Desire Disc, an artifact holding humanity's saved desires, becomes the linchpin of competing factions. Player choices are mapped across a three-by-three matrix of Law, Neutral, and Chaos intersecting with Light, Neutral, and Dark, influencing both the story's direction and the loyalty of demon companions.

Technical Milestones & Commercial Aftermath

As the first Megami Tensei title released on Xbox and the series' inaugural fully 3D production, Nine represented a significant technical leap for the franchise. The third-person exploration of a virtual Tokyo, the real-time battle arenas, and the hacking mini-games—where the protagonist and companions navigate closed arenas along pre-set pathways, knocking out blocking nodes while fending off protection bots—marked a departure from the series' earlier aesthetic. Despite these ambitions, critical reception was mixed, and sales fell below Atlus' internal estimates. The combination of unmet commercial targets and the project's development expenses produced a net financial loss. The cancelled Xbox online component was not entirely lost; it was redeveloped as a Windows port that would eventually ship under the name Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, preserving the multiplayer vision that had driven the original 2001 staff discussions.