26 Nov Welcome to Union City! Get acquainted with Beyond a Steel Sky’s lore in a new dev diary

Paris – November 26, 2021 – Studio Revolution Software and publisher Microids are delighted to unveil a Dev Diary for Beyond a Steel Sky, exploring the game’s fascinating lore. From Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword series, with art direction by Dave Gibbons, legendary comic book artist behind Watchmen, Beyond a Steel Sky is the spiritual successor to the classic Beneath a Steel Sky.  

In this new Dev Diary, Charles Cecil, CEO & Game Director at Revolution Software, goes in-depth on the game’s lore. As the spiritual successor to Beneath a Steel Sky, it was crucial for the studio that Beyond a Steel Sky remained consistent with the original game while being equally appealing to people unfamiliar with the series. “The way that we do this is that we make sure that all the core elements, all the vital lore, is brought through as part of the gameplay so that players experience it as they’re solving puzzles, as they’re driving the narrative forward,” says Charles Cecil.  

In Beneath a Steel Sky, you play as Robert Foster, who was brutally abducted from his village in the wasteland, his village obliterated, now alone with his best friend Joey, the A.I. he built as a child. They later find themselves in Union City, where they’ll have to save the oppressed citizens living there from the dictatorship established by LINC, the A.I. controlling every aspect of people’s lives and turning the whole thing into a totalitarian state. 

Beyond a Steel Sky reintroduces Robert Foster as the main protagonist, coming back to Union City ten years after the events from the original game. But this time, Union City seems like a utopia in which people are happy, thanks to the efforts of a new A.I. “Of course, every utopia is never quite what it seems,” playfully declares Charles. As evidenced by the presence of a class system in this society, with a surprising twist: in Union City, the wealthiest live as close to the ground as possible, while the poorest and the droids live on the upper levels.  

For players interested in getting to know more about the series’ lore, the game includes two Museums: the Museum of New History, dedicated to Beyond a Steel Sky’s lore, and the Museum of Old History where people can learn more about Beneath a Steel Sky. Charles adds: “Hopefully, people will realise that this was our opportunity to convey exposition, because they could choose how much they engaged with, and how much they didn’t, and anything that we thought was vital that they did learn we put into the gameplay. I’m really thrilled to be able to bring Beyond A Steel Sky to consoles, and I know the game will appeal both to new players as well as old fans.” 

Players eager to discover Beneath a Steel Sky, before they dive into its spiritual successor, can access the game for free on Steam. 

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Key features: 

• A fascinating sci-fi world – An adventure set within a dynamic world, populated by willful characters driven by motivations that the player can subvert. In combination with a unique hacking tool, multiple solutions to puzzles emerge from player choices. 
• A thrilling story full of humor – Unravel dark conspiracies, defeat a terrifying antagonist in this dramatic, humorous, cyberpunk thriller, which explores contemporary themes: social control, AI, and total surveillance. 
• A unique 3D comic book art style – A beautifully detailed, comic-book styled world, from the mind of legendary comic artist Dave Gibbons. 
• Ingenious puzzles – Intelligent puzzles are interwoven with an intriguing dramatic narrative to deliver a compelling gameplay experience. 

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Due to worldwide logistical issues and constraints beyond our control, the game’s release date has been postponed on some platforms in certain territories: 

• In the UK, the digital Switch version will be released on November 30, and the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S and retail Nintendo Switch versions will launch on December 7. 
• In North America, the digital Switch version is set to release on December 7, and on December 14 on all other platforms for both retail & digital versions. 
• In Australia & New Zealand, all retail versions will come out on December 17, while all digital versions will be released on November 30. 
• In Europe, the game will launch on November 30 on all platforms as originally scheduled.  

We apologize for the inconvenience for players eager to get their hands on the game, and we thank you for your understanding.