Surviving Mars is getting a post-apocalyptic sequel

Surviving Mars, Paradox and Haemimont Games' martian colony builder, has spawned a series, and its first follow-up will be appearing next year. We've only got a name so far, Surviving the Aftermath, along with the brief teaser above, but a post-apocalyptic management game seems like a pretty safe bet. 

In Surviving Mars, diligent colony administrators have to construct domes for colonists, manage their moods, build sprawling networks of cables and pipes across the hostile planet and, eventually, terraform it. It's tricky and probably one of the most effective survival-management affairs, though it doesn't generate quite as many interesting stories as Rimworld. 

Paradox hasn't revealed much yet, but the post-apocalyptic setting seems like it would conjure up a lot of the same problems with colonising Mars—limited habitable space, a hostile environment, lack of resources. Of course, this all depends on what kind of apocalypse we're talking about. It's a meteor shower in the teaser, but maybe it will have a variety of apocalyptic scenarios. 

"With the staggering growth of Surviving Mars this year we knew we had something special and we wanted to find new ways to utilise survival management gameplay," lead producer Nikhat Ali said. "Surviving the Aftermath gives us the opportunity to experiment with these mechanics in new and interesting ways that we think our players will love."

It's due out on Steam in 2020, but you'll be able to play it first this year when it launches in early access on the Epic Games Store. Paradox won't be revealing more details until its convention later this month. The proper announcement will take place on October 19 at 10 am CEST on Twitch

Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.