Paradox's Afterworld promises deep simulation with a gentle learning curve, says director

Set in the studio's first original world in a decade, Afterworld takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America where players lead one of several groups trying to rebuild society or further tear it apart. TechRadar's Dash traveled to Stockholm last month for a hands-on session before the game's reveal at Gamescom 2026.

Dan Lind, the game's director and the former lead on Hearts of Iron 4, told TechRadar the game is not deliberately simpler. “We're not really designing it much simpler,” he said. “The idea is instead to drip-feed you until you're hooked.”

Lind also described the depth of the simulation, saying Afterworld is “the first game that actually has a population model that keeps track of which sex the person is and stuff like that.” Higher-level systems follow the opinions and beliefs of different groups as players establish cities, harvest resources, and build military units.

The map is condensed to North America rather than the whole world, allowing closer focus on individual cities and units. “It lets you get closer to the ground,” Lind explained. “I can do stuff where a unit is actually [just] ten people.”

Even though the early game starts small, the scale increases as players progress until it looks close to Hearts of Iron 4 or Europa Universalis 5, according to the preview. “What we're trying to do is to manage the complexity with how you're unlocking it,” Lind said. “Anyone can learn to play a Paradox game; you just might not be able to play the entire game if we shove it in your face right away.”

TechRadar wrote that Afterworld “could help bring in a new generation of grand strategy fans” when it is released for PC.