Atomfall: Everything We Know

Remember the Windscale fire in 1957? It was one of the worst nuclear accidents in the world, occurring at a nuclear reactor facility and plutonium production plant in north-west England. Suppose the fire caused a nuclear apocalypse. Atomfall explores one version of it, speculating on an alternate 1960s British history. The upcoming game will be set five years later, after an Atom Plant accident, exploring what the local area around the Windscale power plant might look like. Sounds exciting? Well, stick around till the end of our Atomfall: Everything We Know article to get up to speed.

What is Atomfall?

Atomfall is an upcoming brand-new, single-player, survival-action game. It’s set in post-nuclear-apocalypse Britain, five years after a fire accident at a nuclear power plant. As a result, Atomfall will draw inspiration from real-life events. However, it’ll cross over to also feature ideas from British science fiction, including The Quatermass Experiment, The Day of the Triffids, Doctor Who of the 1950s and 1960s, Cold War paranoia and folk horror. Combined, Atomfall is gearing up to craft an intriguing open world where you’ll be free to scavenge and fight hostile enemies.

Story

Atomfall will be set in an idyllic countryside, as seen in the trailer video embedded below. It’ll take you to charming landscapes with greenery and rolling plains. You’ll spot traditional British tropes like local pubs and red phone booths. In the trailer, you’ll see a quaint sign that tells you that you’re in Wyndham, Lake District. 

Soon, however, you’ll begin to discover that the charming countryside isn’t what it seems. As you explore, you’ll run into abandoned cars, the charred wreckage of a helicopter, and children’s playgrounds with rusty swings that look like they’ve not been used in years.

Five years after a fire broke out at the Windscale Atom Plant, you embark on a journey to unravel the mystery behind the accident. You’ll encounter all sorts of NPCs, including cults, alien factions, and many more. Your interactions with the characters you meet will affect the story’s outcome.

Since the nuclear accident, the local area around the plant has been under quarantine. To create and maintain the quarantine, the government has sent an army. However, five years down the line, their values change. They begin to seek more control over people. Instead of keeping people safe, they become oppressors. They may also be hiding something else.

The army has recruited the help of robots from the British Atomic Research Division’s (B.A.R.D.) science division to help them maintain the quarantine. But to uncover what the army is hiding, you’ll need to face the robots. Fortunately, Atomfall will have a wide assortment of weapons, including pistols, bows and arrows, SMGs, and more. 

But there’s more. The deeper you go into the underground bunkers, the more secrets you uncover, including strange monsters.

Gameplay

Atomfall plans to feature survival and action gameplay. You’ll set off exploring the world for resources. You’ll hunt and scavenge for supplies, including weapons, ammunition, and food. Because resources are scarce, you’ll need to properly manage and conserve your supply.

You’ll also gain a metal detector through scavenging. It’ll allow you to discover more hidden treasures. If you’re not scavenging, you’ll be able to barter goods for better resources. 

At the heart of Atomfall is the mysterious aftermath of the nuclear power plant explosion. You’ll spend quite a lot of time uncovering the secrets of the countryside and trekking further down to the underground caverns to unravel the intertwined mysteries of the army. So, while exploration comes in handy when scavenging, it’ll also be part of a mystery-solving adventure.

As for combat, you’ll use both melee and ranged weapons to face off against varied enemies. From robots to soldiers and strange monsters, Atomfall will constantly throw scary and dangerous enemies your way.

Development

Developer Rebellion Developments is currently working on Atomfall. That’s right. The same developer blessed us with the tactical shooter video game series, Sniper Elite. So far, Sniper Elite has five mainline entries and a couple of spin-offs. Now, Rebellion seems to be ready to launch another, hopefully long-running survival-action series. Or, at least if Atomfall is successful, we may be getting another stream of mainline entries coming our way.

Atomfall was first announced to be in development at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 events. While there were many upcoming games revealed at the event, Atomfall is definitely at the top of gamers’ minds. We already have an intriguing trailer to sink our teeth into. 

Rebellion has promised to share more information ahead of release, stating, “We have a lot more to share and reveal in the leadup to the release of Atomfall in 2025.” So, do keep an eye out for that.

Trailer

Check out the official announcement trailer for the upcoming Atomfall. It showcases the environments and gameplay you can expect in the final game. The trailer is pretty detailed, with intricate sneak peeks at exploration and combat. It juxtaposes idyllic countryside with underground caverns crawling with terrifying monsters. 

The switch between the two completely different settings happens abruptly with little explanation. However, it does spark intrigue over what may have happened to turn a charming place into a land crawling with monsters and mechs. From peaceful countryside to mysterious enemies and dangerous factions, Atomfall has quite a heavy dose of intrigue to live up to.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Atomfall will be launching sometime in 2025. It’s unclear when exactly the release date will be. However, we can confirm that Atomfall will launch on Xbox consoles and PC platforms via Steam. Additionally, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to download the game from day one of its release. 

As for the editions, they remain unconfirmed at the time of writing. For more updates, feel free to follow the official social handle here. Alternatively, stick with us right here on gaming.net for new information on all things gaming.

So, what’s your take? Will you be grabbing a copy of Atomfall when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.