They finally did it: Rebellion has finally introduced another mainline IP that’s not Sniper Elite. During the Xbox spotlights for the 2024 Summer Game Fest, Rebellion unveiled Atomfall, a survival-action game with a heavier focus on scavenging, crafting, and exploration. If you’ve played the Sniper Elite games, you’ll know just how much different this direction is from Rebellion. It appears they’re taking the non-linear approach this time, and going with a first-person perspective to boot. The game is targeting a 2025 release date on the PC and Xbox Series X|S. It will also be available on Game Pass.
As for the story, thank goodness we’re way past the Hitler decoy assassinations and WW2. Atomfall is going to be set in 1957 in northern England during the midst of a nuclear accident inspired by real-life events (likely the 1957 Windscale fire). You’ll be stuck on the wrong side of a quarantine zone, forced to fend for yourself while dealing with the fallout of the disaster.
The game promises encounters with cults, robots, shady government agencies, and the whole roster of Twilight Zone oddities. Hence, the premise is similar to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games’ latest entry, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which, funny enough, also had its reveal in the Summer Game Fest alongside Atomfall. Atomfall, however, will set itself apart by drawing heavier inspirations from British pop culture icons such as Doctor Who.
It Might Just Be the British Fallout Everyone’s Asking For
Sure enough, comparisons are inevitable with plenty of sentiments pointing out that Atomfall is Fallout but set in England or Western Europe. There were also comparisons with Atomic Heart, another atompunk game like Atomfall. That one was set in Eastern Europe, however.
There have been other attempts to create some kind of Fallout game set in Western Europe, namely the Fallout London mod based on the Fallout 4 engine. However, the full conversion mod was forced to push or change its release date following a surprise Fallout 4 next-gen update back in late April 2024.
There’s been no clear release date yet for Fallout London, so the Western Europe post-apocalypse game scene is looking rather vacant right now. With Atomfall making a promising entrance and teasing its release date, it’s set to occupy the spot and might just dominate that post-apocalypse scene.
Atomfall is coming out in 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X|S. It will also be available on Game Pass.
