At long last, an Illuminated Games announcement! We wanted to tell you that we've been working on a new game. It's called The Zone: Stalker Stories, a post-apocalyptic, narrative RPG with deckbuilder card combat -- and we just launched a Kickstarter campaign for it! The campaign page has much info about where Zone is going and our plans for the future: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/realilluminatedgames/the-zone-stalker-stories Please consider backing us; there are lots of cool rewards, and your support could mean the difference between success and failure! You can also wishlist it on Steam right here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299540/The_Zone_Stalker_Stories/

Hello all, and thanks for reading! Today I have the distinct pleasure of being able to announce the release of our new project: https://store.steampowered.com/app/864080/The_Next_World_Rocketship_DLC/ Rocketship is an add-on to the regular story campaign that brings in new strategy features, allowing you to design, build and launch your own starship -- if you can. It will take a lot of doing, but if you pull it off, you'll be able to reach a new ending among the stars. Rocketship is compatible with both base TNW and Planetary Exploration.

Our shiny new DLC, TNW: Rocketship, will release on the 13th of July! The store page is now up, linked below, so you can check out some sweet screenshots and add it to your wishlist! Obviously wishlisting is recommended, as a reminder not to miss this vital event in the history of mankind. https://store.steampowered.com/app/864080/The_Next_World_Rocketship_DLC/

If you're interested in the Rocketship DLC, we just reached beta, and we require your assistance! Obviously I want to make sure everything is bug-free and balanced before we let it out into the wild. So, whether you have The Next World or Planetary Exploration (it will be compatible with both), if you want to check out Rocketship before anyone else, get in touch. It'll be fun! You can volunteer by posting on this thread in the TNW community forum: https://steamcommunity.com/app/427860/discussions/0/1697174779857073002/

I bring an important message to everyone who enjoyed The Next World and Planetary Exploration! We at Illuminated Games are considering options for a brand new DLC. Something small -- say, an intriguing subplot -- for only a couple of dollars. And best of all, we're taking votes from our excellent fans as to what it's going to be. The options on the table are: 1. Rocketship -- A difficult path towards building a new Exodus and launching it, leading to the toughest choice of all: selecting who gets to survive in a ship too small to carry everyone. 2. The Other Crash Site -- Did you find some strange metal plating on your last playthrough? Well, there's more where that came from... And new mysteries to go along with it. 3. Internal Strife -- The tension in the colony comes to a head, pitting Shen and Lucy against each other as a new political splinter group arises with very different ideas about humanity's goal on your new planet. 4. Your Suggestions -- We're considering write-in votes, so if you have an incredibly great and interesting idea, post it in the comments! So tell us... Which one should we make? I await your answer.

I'm very pleased to announce that we're releasing a major update to The Next World and TNW: PE on the 7th of March -- the day it first came out 2 years ago. This update will include a bunch of patches and stability upgrades, some new achievements, and several never-before-seen events to make your survival a little more interesting. It'll also give players more control over the game's difficulty level, so new runs should end up less punishing. I hope you're as excited about this as I am. If not, a little bit excited will be fine. As always, if you encounter any problems, report it on the discussion board and I'll be happy to help personally!

I'm very pleased to announce that we're releasing a major update to The Next World and TNW: PE on the 7th of March -- the day it first came out 2 years ago. This update will include a bunch of patches and stability upgrades, some new achievements, and several never-before-seen events to make your survival a little more interesting. It'll also give players more control over the game's difficulty level, so new runs should end up less punishing. I hope you're as excited about this as I am. If not, a little bit excited will be fine. As always, if you encounter any problems, report it on the discussion board and I'll be happy to help personally!

This has been a long time coming, but here we are -- Steam Achievements have arrived in The Next World! 24 shiny new trophies are waiting to be collected by exploring everything the game has to offer. They can be unlocked in both the vanilla game as well as Planetary Exploration. Old saved games will still work, though they won't be able to unlock all the achievements. Speaking of Planetary Exploration, we will be putting out another update in the future to add a slew of Achievements unique to the expansion! Stay tuned to find out when that's coming. In the meantime... Let the collecting begin!

This has been a long time coming, but here we are -- Steam Achievements have arrived in The Next World! 24 shiny new trophies are waiting to be collected by exploring everything the game has to offer. They can be unlocked in both the vanilla game as well as Planetary Exploration. Old saved games will still work, though they won't be able to unlock all the achievements. Speaking of Planetary Exploration, we will be putting out another update in the future to add a slew of Achievements unique to the expansion! Stay tuned to find out when that's coming. In the meantime... Let the collecting begin!

It's time to take a much closer look at the planet which now hosts the last, battered remnants of the Exodus mission -- and at the niche which those survivors can carve out for themselves in their hostile environment. The Planetary Exploration expansion offers: ● A completely new exploration system ● Direct your salvage expeditions in detail ● Find ore to mine - then mine it! ● Manage your colony's power needs in detail with the new Power resource ● Discover dozens of new events and conversations The Next World now has so much more to offer -- you simply can't miss out. http://store.steampowered.com/app/491740/

It's time to take a much closer look at the planet which now hosts the last, battered remnants of the Exodus mission -- and at the niche which those survivors can carve out for themselves in their hostile environment. The Planetary Exploration expansion offers: A completely new exploration system Direct your salvage expeditions in detail Find ore to mine - then mine it! Manage your colony's power needs in detail with the new Power resource Discover dozens of new events and conversations The Next World now has so much more to offer -- you simply can't miss out. http://store.steampowered.com/app/491740/

To commemmorate the impending release of The Next World: Planetary Exploration, our beefy expansion to the original game, we're adding the expansion's music to our regular soundtrack, free of charge. It features several brand-new tracks by our extremely talented composer Steve Barnes, all of which are unique to the expansion. It's just a little taste of the high-quality content to come. Planetary Exploration features a huge slew of new art, sound effects, exploration events, and more. It will be going on sale very soon, so watch this space!

To commemmorate the impending release of The Next World: Planetary Exploration, our beefy expansion to the original game, we're adding the expansion's music to our regular soundtrack, free of charge. It features several brand-new tracks by our extremely talented composer Steve Barnes, all of which are unique to the expansion. It's just a little taste of the high-quality content to come. Planetary Exploration features a huge slew of new art, sound effects, exploration events, and more. It will be going on sale very soon, so watch this space!

Illuminated Games is now recruiting diligent testers for a massive TNW expansion that is about to hit beta. If you're interested in experiencing the game in a completely new way, this is your chance, and now is the time. Send us an email at info@thenextworldgame.com today to apply for tester status! (This is a volunteer effort apart from a free expansion key provided for play.)

Illuminated Games is now recruiting diligent testers for a massive TNW expansion that is about to hit beta. If you're interested in experiencing the game in a completely new way, this is your chance, and now is the time. Send us an email at info@thenextworldgame.com today to apply for tester status! (This is a volunteer effort apart from a free expansion key provided for play.)

The Next World is one month old today! The growing pains are past, bug reports have become virtually nil, and this all deserves a celebration. So with great fanfare we are now releasing the official TNW soundtrack! All music from the game is included in this album by our fantastic composers, Steve Barnes and Nicolas Lee. All credit goes to them for making TNW sound amazing. And now you can enjoy their fine work in the comfort of your own MP3-playing device. You couldn't ask for more! ...Well, you could, but you shouldn't. Thanks for reading, thanks for playing, and -- from all of us at Illuminated Games -- thanks for listening. - Ryan & The Team Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/461020

The Next World is one month old today! The growing pains are past, bug reports have become virtually nil, and this all deserves a celebration. So with great fanfare we are now releasing the official TNW soundtrack! All music from the game is included in this album by our fantastic composers, Steve Barnes and Nicolas Lee. All credit goes to them for making TNW sound amazing. And now you can enjoy their fine work in the comfort of your own MP3-playing device. You couldn't ask for more! ...Well, you could, but you shouldn't. Thanks for reading, thanks for playing, and -- from all of us at Illuminated Games -- thanks for listening. - Ryan & The Team Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/461020

Red dust flutters in the dry, desultory breeze. The wreckage of the starship Exodus lies scattered across miles of empty ground. The broken pieces of what was supposed to be your home. There's no air and no life but what you bring with you. The deck is stacked against you. But when has that ever stopped you before? This planet will challenge you. Now rise to meet it. Build a home. Rally your people. Survive, at any cost. The Next World awaits.

Red dust flutters in the dry, desultory breeze. The wreckage of the starship Exodus lies scattered across miles of empty ground. The broken pieces of what was supposed to be your home. There's no air and no life but what you bring with you. The deck is stacked against you. But when has that ever stopped you before? This planet will challenge you. Now rise to meet it. Build a home. Rally your people. Survive, at any cost. The Next World awaits.

The seed that would become Next World began, when one young teenager went out on a limb and pulled an old PC game called Outpost 2 out of a bargain bin. It was an underrated, unexpectedly literary gem of real-time strategy, which sparked a lifelong love of colony stories. In the years that followed, the concept developed in fits and starts. It briefly flourished as a potential comic in 2006, with some art and scripts drawn up, but never got beyond the preliminary stages and was soon buried again. Until that teenager became a game developer and decided to revive an almost-forgotten idea from 15 years ago. That teenager was me, obviously, and this is the game that I've dreamed of making for well over a decade. After Euclidean came out back in September, and while my compatriots at Alpha Wave were busy completely redeveloping our strategy for our next few games, I decided I wasn't going to wait for that process to shake out. Take destiny into my own hands, all that. Work like a demon to make an amazing, full-featured game at a lightning pace. I wanted to play to my strengths as a writer, and my love of storytelling in games. I wanted to make it old-school like the games I used to love from my childhood. Outpost 2, and Dune, and King of Dragon Pass, and others besides. I especially wanted to make it in beautiful 2d. 3d games are great, but I grew up with 256 colours, and my fondest memories will always be sprite-based. A visual novel was the natural choice. Working 16-hour days for 6 months was what it took. That, and learning to program in Ren'Py from scratch. I managed to attract an amazing team of visual and sound artists who deserve all credit for their hard work - Savannah, Anastasia, Sydney, Salvatore, Kia, Steve, Kolby and Nicolas. Now here we are, and I'm really proud of what we've achieved. But that's not the point. The point is, it was made for you, and you'll have to tell us if we've done it well enough. - Ryan & Team Illuminated Games