Games Operators and Jutsu Games have announced that their zombie apocalypse survival management game, Infection Free Zone, will enter early access on April 11, 2024.
I’m still burnt out from the zombie boom of the late aughts and early ‘10s. However, Infection Free Zone still caught my eye despite my exhaustion. Part of this is because it uses real map data to allow you to play on any city. This is similar to Jutsu’s previous games, 911 Operator and 112 Operator. However, while those were just overhead maps, Infection Free Zone generates 3D environments. I wonder how well it will handle rural Ontario.
Obviously, the buildings aren’t really going to be accurate. However, you mostly just use them to send your survivors to scavenge and build defenses around them for protection. The goal seems to be to create the eponymous zones free from infection to help humanity rebuild.
There have been plenty of games where I’ve looted while avoiding the undead, so I’m interested in a game where you just send people to do it for you. There are pharmacies, schools, and other buildings that you can send survivors to plumb, and their contents are supposedly based on what type of building they are.
Early Access is estimated to last for one year. Jutsu Games is hoping to adapt to player feedback and add new buildings and other additions to the world. Currently, you can play a “prologue” demo that allows you to test out its gameplay on six preset cities. The demo has been well received, so hopefully that carries over to the full version.
Infection Free Zone will be available on PC via Early Access on April 11, 2024.
