Overview
Wasteland 2 is a sequel to the 1988 cult classic, Wasteland; it is being developed by inXile Entertainment with a team that includes many figures responsible for the original game. Wasteland 2 is a top-down, turn-based, squad-based RPG in which the player controls a group of Desert Rangers.
The game was released for PC, Mac, and Linux on September 19, 2014. Announced for a console release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. A Nintendo Switch version was officially teased in December 2017 with a picture of a dev kit running the game.
Story
Wasteland 2 takes place in post-apocalyptic America. The first game focused on the faction known as Desert Rangers, who modeled themselves after the pre-war rangers of Texas and Arizona. The first Desert Rangers were U.S. Army engineers, who in hopes of surviving nuclear holocaust and it's aftermath took over a newly built federal prison. They released the prisoners into the wastes to make space, and renamed the prison to Ranger Center.
In time several survivalist communities were invited to join the Rangers and the Center. By 2087 the Ranger Center became one of the most powerful and prosperous communities in the wastes. Wasteland 2 will be set somewhere in southwestern US, not long after the events of the first game.
Development
Kickstarter
The game was being developed with the aid of crowdfunding through Kickstarter.com. The drive began on March 13, 2012. Their target amount for the campaign was $900,000, and if the campaign did not exceed one million dollars, Brian Fargo was going to pledge an additional hundred thousand himself. However, like the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter campaign, the drive for funds proved successful and their goal was surpassed within days.
By the end, the project more than tripled on the planed $900.000, amassing $2,993,252 on the Kickstarter alone. Wasteland 2's development has already been mapped out based on the amount of funds received, and if certain targets beyond the required goal can be met, more content will be added to to the game and release on additional platforms. Both fans and newcomers to the series shared their ideas and things they'd like/wouldn't like to see in the game with InXile Entertainment on the official Wasteland 2 forum.
Team
Many people that worked on the previous Wasteland game were hired by Brian Fargo to work on the sequel. These include Alan Pavlish (programmer, producer and designer), Michael Stackpole (designer), Ken St. Andre (designer), Liz Danforth (scenario designer), Jason D. Anderson (Fallout, Fallout 2 artist and game designer) was supposed to work on the development of Wasteland 2, but left InXile before completion. Mark Morgan (composer of Fallout and Fallout 2 soundtrack) was hired to compose the soundtrack of Wasteland 2, a sample of his work on the game was released on August 15th. Chris Avellone (who worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas) will also work on Wasteland 2.
Media
A pre-alpha video was released during Unity Unite 2012 conference in Amsterdam. The video showcased the isometric view of the game, and different angles the player could use. The environment used in the video was the same one seen in the first official screenshot.
In February of 2013, inExile released a lengthy gameplay video of the game which focused on many of its core elements; such as the turn based combat, NPC dialogue and skill system.
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