Earlier this year, Nacon generated some excitement with the latest teaser trailer for Terminator: Survivors, a new open-world adventure/survival game that takes place after Judgment Day in a post-apocalyptic setting. The game is apparently launching this year, but there are still plenty of outstanding questions, and thankfully, Nacon has stepped up to answer some of them.
First off, Nacon has clarified Terminator: Survivors’ setting, which takes place in a timeline where Judgment Day happened in 2005 and we see the John Connor found the resistance.
“We've witnessed Sarah Connor's efforts to avert Judgment Day, the Resistance's struggle against Skynet. And yet, while Judgment Day looms large in the Terminator mythos, the aftermath, the resilience of survivors, and the genesis of John Connor's Resistance have remained largely untold. Sarah Connor succeeded in preventing the Judgment Day event of 1997, but this did not halt Cyberdyne and the birth of Skynet, merely postponing the inevitable. In September 2005, Skynet attained self-awareness and initiated a global nuclear assault, resulting in the extermination of billions of people.
Those who were distant enough from the epicenters or who found refuge in anti-nuclear bunkers had to confront the onset of a new era amidst radiation and societal collapse. With long-range communication systems offline, people congregated in small, often conflicting communities, striving to secure the scarce resources available.
In Terminator: Survivors, players traverse an environment scarred by years of radiation. It’s 2009, and various factions are competing for dominance over territory and vital resources. Very few people are aware of the events that led to the dropping of the bombs and, especially at the beginning of the game, only a few know about Skynet's existence.”
If you’re think you’re going to be mowing down dozens of Terminators, reset your expectations, because Terminator: Survivors will only feature a single relentless T-800 that will stalk you throughout the game. Nacon provided the following reasons for that…
“Lore Consistency: The game unfolds in 2009, shortly after the cataclysmic Judgment Day, during a period when Skynet's production capabilities hadn't yet reached their peak. The T-800, an infiltration unit, serves as a reminder of Skynet's relentless pursuit across time. The T-800 encountered by players is one of these units, sent by Skynet in its desperate attempts to rewrite history and secure victory in the Future War.
Tone and Atmosphere: We aimed to capture the essence of the first two films, where the looming threat of an unstoppable machine instilled a sense of dread and urgency. By featuring a lone T-800 as the relentless antagonist, players are immersed in an atmosphere of constant peril and tension. Much like the protagonists in the movies, players will experience the harrowing sensation of being hunted by an adversary that knows no mercy and cannot be reasoned with.”
Nacon confirmed a few other things, such as the fact that Terminator: Survivors is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, and the game will be fully playable offline (although co-op for up to four players is available as well). A beta is coming, although it won’t arrive until closer to the game's release.
Terminator: Survivors is slated to launch into Steam Early Access on October 24. There are also Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions in the works, although it’s currently unclear if early access will be available on those platforms or if console players will have to wait for the full release.
About the author: Professional writer of trivial things. Nathan has been covering games, entertainment, and online culture for over a decade with bylines at IGN, GameSpy, Cracked, Uproxx, ComicBook, and more. Joined Wccftech gaming team in 2017, and has written hundreds of game reviews and thousands of news stories since.
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