Summary
- Frostpunk 2 has an ambitious post-apocalyptic setting with new factions and evolving gameplay mechanics.
- Expect major updates, free expansions, and paid DLCs planned for Frostpunk 2 from 2024 to 2026.
- The game will see three DLCs, Spectrum and Aurora in 2025, and an unnamed one in 2026. Consoles release expected in 2025.
Frostpunk 2 has proven to be a dramatically different game than its predecessor. Frostpunk 2's expanded game world, new mechanics, and myriad additional features have made it not just a mere iteration over the first game, but an ambitious, even experimental follow-up, and it's poised to get bigger and better.
11 Bit Studios has recently published a roadmap outlining its plans for the future of Frostpunk 2, and it looks promising. This post-launch strategy echoes that of the first Frostpunk, in that it involves expected bug fixes and minor patches in addition to more substantial content drops and paid DLCs. While there's very little concrete information available about these DLCs at the time of writing, their rough release dates have been revealed, painting an intriguing picture of the next two years of Frostpunk 2.
Frostpunk 2's Great Frost Explained
Frostpunk 2 is a dystopian city-builder that tasks players with protecting their citizens from extreme cold weather, a hangover from the Great Frost.
Frostpunk 2 Is Getting New Content In 2025 and 2026
Frostpunk 1.2 and Free Content Drops Explained
First up on the docket for 11 Bit Studios is a major new update planned to hit Frostpunk 2 before the end of 2024. This will follow the 1.1. Update from earlier this year, which improved Frostpunk 2's balancing and added new quality-of-life features; update 1.2 is expected to do roughly the same, but 11 Bit Studios has also noted that the patch will bring to-be-explained interface changes, which could be significant.
More tantalizing is the news about Frostpunk 2's first free content drop, which is planned for 2025. According to 11 Bit Studios, this is only planned to be the first of many such free expansions, inspired and informed by player feedback. Unfortunately, very little has been revealed about these complimentary patches, but it's safe to say that they should improve the already comprehensive Frostpunk 2 experience, and potentially influence players to invest in the far more substantive paid DLCs, which are well on their way.
There Are Three DLCs Planned for Frostpunk 2
Like the first game, Frostpunk 2 is getting several premium expansions in addition to its free content releases. Though they are being kept "under wraps" for the time being, 11 Bit Studios has confirmed that the first two DLCs, codenamed Spectrum and Aurora, are slated for a 2025 launch, with a third, unnamed expansion planned for 2026.
The DLCs for the first Frostpunk were rather well-received, as they did a great job of remixing and recontextualizing the core systems of the base game. With these as a reference, audiences should be hopeful that the three major Frostpunk 2 expansions will follow the same template for success, offering fresh takes on the game's strategic city-building rather than just being off-shoots of the base game. With how much Frostpunk 2 improves upon certain aspects of the first game, there's plenty of reason to believe that the expansions will be a similar evolution.
Frostpunk 2 Is Coming to Consoles in 2025
At some point between the release of the first free expansion and the first paid one, Frostpunk 2 will be getting ported to consoles. Sadly, this could be well into 2025, so Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 players will have to hold out a bit longer before getting their hands on the critically-acclaimed city-builder. At the time of writing, there don't seem to be any plans to bring Frostpunk 2 to the Nintendo Switch or its successor.
Between these more significant expansions and updates, 11 Bit Studios has assured players that Frostpunk 2 will continue to be polished with regular hotfixes and smaller patches. These, combined with the bigger additions to the game, should make it an interesting and rewarding game to follow through 2026.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- September 20, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Frostpunk
- PC Release Date
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
The game takes place 30 years after the apocalyptic blizzard that has taken place in Frostpunk. Earth is still overwhelmed by the neverending frost and harsh, icy climate. You play as the leader of a resource-hungry metropolis where expansion and internal conflicts are an unavoidable reality. It’s up to you to make decisions about your City’s future and face their consequences.
In Frostpunk 2 you can build your City on a new scale by creating entire districts with different purposes. Make sure that all parts of the City work well together as well as research technologies that will set the direction for your citizens’ progress.
THE CITY MUST NOT FALL “Frostpunk 2 is still a game about the City and its society,” states Jakub Stokalski, game Co-Director and Design Director at 11 bit studios. “But inner turmoils, sparked by rising social differences, mean that players will be facing new kinds of threats. We use a post-apocalyptic setup to tell a meaningful story about human ambition. Because ultimately, what can end us is not nature itself – it’s human nature.”
NAVIGATE BETWEEN FACTIONS AS A STEWARD As the City grows, creating and passing new laws becomes a more complex matter. The people slowly divide into factions with different, often contradictory visions of the future. The Council is a place where these ideas clash, sometimes violently. It’s your role as a Steward to ensure that the city will not fall because of those conflicts. Manage emerging crises while at the same time steering humanity towards a new destiny.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
