Frostpunk 2: The Lore of Winterhome Explained

Despite being six years old at this point, lore in the Frostpunk series is still a little scarce. That being said, the lore that is present in Frostpunk and its recently released sequel is often pretty hard-hitting and emotive. Set in a post-apocalyptic world that’s been decimated by a Great Frost, it’s only natural that Frostpunk‘s story revolves around tragedy.

In Frostpunk, players take control of New London, thought to be the final home of humanity’s last survivors. But that doesn’t mean that other settlements didn’t use to exist. Winterhome was one such settlement, and its story is one of the most tragic pieces of Frostpunk lore.

The Lore of Frostpunk 2’s Winterhome Explained

Winterhome Was One of The British Empire’s First Settlements

In the year 1886, a snowstorm on an apocalyptic scale swept the world. This storm resulted in an event referred to as the “Great Frost,” in which the entire world was plunged into a cold darkness that refused to relent. The British Empire scrambled to protect its people, using all of its resources and money to rush the production of Heat Generator Towers and amphibious Land Dreadnoughts.

These Land Dreadnoughts would transport a select few to outposts equipped with supplies and structures tailor-made to fight the increasingly cold weather. Winterhome was one of the first of these outposts to be created, with it acting as the headquarters of the British Empire’s research and expeditionary force. By the time London collapsed due to poor infrastructure and mass panic, Winterhome was a fully functioning city, complete with advanced technologies such as Automatons.

The Fall of Winterhome

But despite its advanced technology and prosperity, Winterhome had a core issue that could not be fixed. At the heart of all outposts stands a tall Heat Generator Tower that provides warmth and power to the entire city. Without this generator, an outpost would only last a few weeks. But Winterhome’s generator had a critical flaw.

When Winterhome’s generator malfunctioned for the first time, panic spread like wildfire through the city’s population. To try and bring the chaos under control, Winterhome’s Captain established a brutal authoritarian regime, physically forcing their people to stay in line. When the generator broke down once more, the people chose to rebel against the Captain and their regime, inciting a full-scale civil war.

The rebels staged a successful coup, and Winterhome’s Captain was executed along with the rest of his leading officers. The rebels chose a new captain to lead Winterhome, and against all odds, they managed to repair the damage to the city and rebuild much of its society. But once London fell and the refugees started to appear, Winterhome’s fate became sealed. Riots soon broke out over food shortages, and in the chaos, Winterhome’s faulty generator exploded.

Anyone who didn’t perish in the initial generator explosion was either killed in the resulting anarchy or forced to venture out into the Frostlands. Just one or two of Winterhome’s citizens survived to tell the city’s tragic tale, with them having been rescued by scouts sent from New London.

In
Frostpunk
‘s Last Autumn scenario, it’s heavily implied that the player-controlled foragers steal the parts that would have been used to repair Winterhome’s generator, thus dooming the city.

Winterhome’s Second Chance

While players can find Winterhome in the first Frostpunk, it’s nothing more than a frozen ghost town, with little to offer New London and its people. But in Frostpunk 2, Winterhome becomes a prime piece of real estate, and players are able to use its bones as the foundation of a new city.