“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” George Orwell, Animal Farm

Today marks 75 years since George Orwell’s wildly influential literary novel Animal Farm was first published. Now a small collective of indie developers and the estate of George Orwell are proud to announce that the legendary work is set to make a fresh impact via the artistic format of the 21st Century: video gaming.

George Orwell's fable of revolutionary farm animals – the steadfast horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic pigs Snowball and Napoleon, and the deafening choir of sheep – who overthrow their elitist human master only to find themselves subject to a new authority, is one of the most famous warnings ever written.

By choosing which of the animals’ wishes they follow – and who is ignored or sidelined – gamers will influence the critical events that define the fate of the farm. Players must devise strategies to balance resources, defend the farm, and keep the animal population happy. With its evocative 1930s painterly graphics, Animal Farm puts the player at the center of an allegorical revolution and enables them to experience firsthand the corrupting nature of power.

The indie developer collective consists of The Dairymen (Andy Payne founder of Just Flight, AppyNation and Imre Jele founder of Bossa Studios), and Nerial, the creators of the BAFTA-nominated Reigns series, who bring their unrivaled skills in streamlined and powerful storytelling to Animal Farm. 

“I have long wanted to explore how, through video gaming, we could design an experience which immerses the player in Orwell’s vision. As the project has come to fruition in 2020 it has felt increasingly vital to bring Orwell’s study of inequity, power and control to a new audience. As I watch world events unfold - Brexit, Trump, Putin, Orban, Erdogan - and see numerous leaders use tactics from the populist, nationalist playbook: it sometimes feels like Animal Farm is not fiction, but reality,“ said Project Founder Imre Jele.

“Animal Farm tends to be remembered for how its powerful characters destroy the truth through gaslighting, hypocrisy, corruption and greed – all distressingly recognisable to people living through the political events of 2020. But the book also says a lot about why altruistic characters support horrible outcomes, and how values like hard work, cooperation, and loyalty can be warped in obedience to unsound goals. Video games are powerful at telling stories about systems and enabling ‘what if?’ questions. My goal was to capture Orwell's very relevant observations in a form that players can explore,” commented writer Emily Short.

The game will be narrated by Abubakar Salim who amongst other roles played Bayek in Assassin's Creed: Origins. His performance was directed by Kate Saxon, who has worked on a series of high profile video games including Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, Alien: Isolation, The Witcher 2 & 3 and others.

Key Features:

• Pick Your Own Adventure
  • Cultivate, subvert, or sacrifice the different animals who live on Manor Farm and see their different political strategies play out.
  • Guide Manor Farm through seven years of Animalism. Can the player avoid its manipulation and the descent into decadence? 
  • Manage the affairs and feelings of Manor Farm’s animals as the fortunes of the farm evolve.
  • Fill your handbook with information about each animal and log events.
• Strategically manage the resources and defence of Manor Farm 
  • Rally against the two-legged enemy: human beings.
  • Prepare for battle by building the Farm’s defences and increasing resources production, including building the Windmill.
  • Idyllic springs, sweet summers, golden autumns and bitter winters must all be navigated in each passing year as Animalism marches on.
• Multiple Endings and unlockable achievements 
  • Choose your political machinations: Surveillance, Reeducation or Bloodbaths.
  • Reach up to 6 destinies and find 8 different endings.
  • Complete all 48 achievements in the Farm’s handbook.

Bring in new creatures to the Republic of Animals, and open up new possibilities for the direction of the Farm. 

Orwell’s Animal Farm is coming to PC (Steam) and Android/iOS on December 10, 2020.