Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known.
Featuring both familiar and innovative gameplay mechanics, Ara: History Untold delivers an evolution in historical grand strategy with no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy.
EXPLORE A LIVING WORLD
Explore a dynamic living world filled with life and charm across sweeping landscapes, ranging from tropical jungles to sand-swept deserts. Find the resources you need to develop your nation and witness it come to life through its people – each citizen has a unique story that you create and influence with your decisions. Infinite replay-ability arises from each game’s procedurally generated environment and the unique challenges it creates, so no two games will ever be the same.
RULE YOUR WAY
Take up the mantle of history’s most influential figures and reshape the world through your choices. Will you rule the Egyptians as Queen Nefertiti, the Greeks as Sappho, the United States as George Washington, or bring your own custom leader to life?
BUILD YOUR NATION
Your land is your canvas – construct a variety of buildings from forges to libraries to citadels and cathedrals, providing you with strategic bonuses and abilities. Weave a future of infinite possibilities by researching diverse technologies, each one unlocking new kinds of resources, improvements, goods and equipment.
PROVE YOUR WORTH
Grow your nation and be prepared to defend it. The fate of your people will be determined by your decisions and your ability to predict your opponent’s next move, putting your skill as a leader to the ultimate test.
BECOME AN INSIDER
If you’re looking for a way to shape the future of your next favorite strategy game, the Ara: History Untold Insider Program is here! As an Insider, you’ll join a passionate community with a mission to help the team deliver the best possible version of Ara: History Untold and leave your mark on the next evolution in turn-based strategy.
Insiders will get exclusive updates, feedback opportunities, and a chance to be the first to play the game, starting with our initial Technical Alpha kicking off later this summer.
In this narrative-driven, third-person survival horror game set 300 years in the future, the player will take on the role of Jacob Lee – a victim of fate thrown into Black Iron Prison, a maximum-security penitentiary located on Jupiter's moon, Callisto. When inmates begin to transform into monstrous creatures, the prison is thrown into chaos. To survive, Jacob must battle his way to safety to escape Black Iron Prison, while uncovering the dark and disturbing secrets buried beneath the surface of Callisto. Using a unique blend of shooting and close-quarters combat, Jacob will need to adapt his tactics to combat the rapidly evolving creatures while scavenging to unlock new weapons, gear, and abilities to outrun the growing threat and escape the horrors of Jupiter's Dead Moon.
The Callisto Protocol is a next-generation take on survival horror from the mind of Glen Schofield. Blending atmosphere, tension, and brutality with terrifying moments of helplessness and humanity, The Callisto Protocol immerses players in a pulse-pounding story where unspeakable horrors lurk around every corner.
UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNITED JUPITER COMPANY
Set on Jupiter’s dead moon Callisto in the year 2320, The Callisto Protocol casts players as Jacob Lee, an inmate in Black Iron Prison. When a mysterious outbreak throws the moon into chaos, Jacob must face his darkest fears to defeat the bloodthirsty creatures that stalk him as he unravels the dark mysteries at the heart of the powerful United Jupiter Company.
MASTER BRUTAL, STRATEGIC COMBAT
The Callisto Protocol challenges players to master a thrilling blend of hand-to-hand and ranged combat, including a unique gravity weapon once used by Black Iron guards to control the prison population. Players will be forced to get up close and personal with their grotesque opponents, hacking off limbs, blasting off legs, and getting creative with whatever is at their disposal to survive each life-or-death encounter.
EXPERIENCE THE ISOLATION OF JUPITER'S DEAD MOON
One of the most hostile, isolated environments in the universe, Callisto looms large over Jacob’s desperate struggle to survive. Players must not only contend with the horrors of Black Iron Prison, but also the centuries-old secrets that plague Jupiter’s long-dead moon, both above and below the surface.
MATURE CONTENT DESCRIPTION
The developers describe the content like this:
This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content
Monday, 20 June 2022
Top-Earning Video Gamers: The Ten Highest-Paid Players Pocketed More Than $120 Million In 2019
n the world of professional video games, winning isn’t everything. Fortnite phenom Tyler “Ninja” Blevins made $17 million last year, enough for first place on Forbes’ inaugural ranking of top-earning gamers, but the 28-year-old pro won less than $100,000 competing. In fact, Ninja didn’t even qualify for the first-ever Fortnite World Cup, which was held in New York’s Arthur Ashe stadium last July, or its $3 million grand prize. (That money was won by Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a 16-year old from Pennsylvania).
That’s because top-earning gamers are more influencer than they are elite athlete. They earn their millions from leveraging their massive online followings into endorsements, fees and sponsorships. Ninja has 2.8 million followers on Mixer, Microsoft’s nascent gaming platform, which Forbes estimates will spend $30 million over three years after luring him from arch-rival Twitch last August. The blue-haired gamer has an additional 22.7 million YouTube subscribers and 14.9 million followers on Instagram. In all, the ten top-earning gamers have a combined 270 million followers across YouTube, Twitch and Mixer and earned $121 million last year. None of them made the list through competition alone.
The next step? Mainstream celebrity. Ninja, who has been a pro gamer in one form or another since starting with Halo 3 in 2009, is well under way. His visage adorned soft drink cans thanks to an endorsement deal with Red Bull. Adidas has a Ninja sneaker. In the last year he has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and performed as a guest vocalist on Fox’s The Masked Singer. Ninja merchandise—from a graphic novel to his signature headband—can be purchased at Walmart and Target.
And Ninja is just one of hundreds of internet entertainers cashing in on the growing influence of streaming and gaming culture, which has brands including Monster Energy, Postmates and State Farm paying up in their hunger to reach the elusive Millennial audience; eMarketer estimates sponsorships and advertising spends in gaming alone would hit $3.3 billion in 2019.
The biggest streamers buttress that revenue by collecting directly from their followers, who can “tip” them with direct one-time payments or pay for a premium subscription that the players split with platforms like Amazon’s Twitch and Mixer. At his peak, Blevins made upwards of $500,000 per month, splitting the $4.99 premium fee fans paid to Twitch.
Three months after Ninja signed with Mixer, Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro who retired in 2018 at 23 (No. 5, $12.5 million), followed. Both gamers were cashing in on Microsoft’s desperation to give relevance to Mixer, which lags Facebook, YouTube and Twitch in total gaming hours watched, according to both Palo Alto-based streaming toolmaker StreamElements and Chicago-based data analyst Arsenal.gg.
Pro gaming is still the Wild West. There is no government agency overseeing decency on streaming sites and the personalities making the most noise aren’t always peddling the most high-minded material.
Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg (No. 2, with $15 million) has lost partnerships because of anti-Semitic and racist videos. His audience has stuck with the Swedish gamer, though; he remains the most subscribed-to individual on YouTube. Blevins himself was caught in a controversy after he said in August 2018 he wouldn’t stream with women because of possible relationship rumors that could emerge.
Controversies aside, it’s a ripe time to cash in. Mixer’s announcement of the Ninja deal had the feel of a major league free agency press event and triggered an expensive chase for talent. It was a smart move to jump. Blevins had around 250,000 premium subscribers in March 2018 and a year later was down to about 20,000, according to TwitchTracker. Since then, platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Caffeine have been signing more gamers to exclusive deals, including Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang, Jack “CouRage” Dunlop and Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter.
Forbes estimates Mixer will pay Grzesiek $20 million over three years, even though his 7 million Twitch followers has translated into less than a million on the nascent platform. This in addition to the money publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard, pays for Grzesiek to play their games on stream. Blevins himself is getting in on the pay-to-play action, receiving reported $1 million in February for a few hours playing Fortnite competitor Apex Legends.
#1 Ninja (Tyler Blevins)
Earnings: $17 million
The top gamer was everywhere in 2019, from Red Bull cans in grocery stores to bedding in Walmart to starring roles in NFL commercials. While his viewership fell, his influence didn’t, with endorsements from Adidas, Red Bull and underwear designer PSD. His exclusivity deal with Microsoft is helping to reshape the live-streaming landscape. And the good times seem to be continuing. This month, Fortnite maker Epic Games released an in-game Ninja avatar that fans can play as.
KARWAI TANG/GETTY IMAGES
#2 PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg)
Earnings: $15 million
The top individual YouTuber, Felix Kjellberg announced he’d be taking a break from the site after another tumultuous year. Last September he pledged $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League to “move past” his anti-Semitic controversies—then suddenly canceled the donation after an outcry from his fan base. Kjellberg remains as popular as ever, though, pulling in a staggering 4.5 billion views in 2019.
#3 Preston (Preston Arsement)
Earnings: $14 million
Both a popular Minecraftplayer and vlogger, Preston’s also bringing in seven figures annually hosting custom versions of Minecraft with in-game spending.
DANIEL ZUCHNIK/GETTY IMAGES
#5 Shroud (Michael Grzesiek)
Earnings: $12.5 million
Not being tethered to one game has made Michael Grzesiek a favorite of major game publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard. The former pro also has an extensive clothing line with gaming brand Jinx.
DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES
#6 DanTDM (Daniel Middleton)
Earnings: $12 million
Daniel Middleton is a worldwide sensation due to his popular Minecraft videos, amassing 22.4 million subscribers. In 2019, he went on tour for an interactive movie experience called The Contest.
DAVID LIVINGSTON/GETTY IMAGES
#7 VanossGaming (Evan Fong)
Earnings: $11.5 million
Fong’s comedic playthroughs have attracted 24.9 million subscribers and had 1.6 billion views on YouTube in 2019. He’s been famous for some time now, starring as a monster hunter in Paranormal Action Squad, a premium 2016 cartoon series on the same platform.
LEON BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES
#8 Jacksepticeye (Sean McLoughlin)
Earnings: $11 million
With 23.2 million subscribers, McLoughlin is Ireland’s most popular YouTuber, uploading videos on a variety of games. Late in 2018, he started a clothing brand with fellow YouTube gamer, Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach.
#9 TimTheTatman (Timothy Betar)
Earnings: $8 million
Timothy Betar’s comedic, good-natured Fortnite streams have made him a favorite with brands, from Reese’s to Bud Light. He also streams and is a commentator for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games on Twitch. At the end of the year, he signed an exclusive streaming deal with the platform.
JEFFREY CLEARY/FAZE CLAN.
#10 Nickmercs (Nick Kolcheff)
Earnings: $6 million
Nick Kolcheff made a name for himself by playing Fortnite with a controller, which is considered more challenging than using a keyboard-and-mouse. It helped him become the tenth-most-watched streamer in 2019, according to StreamElements and Arsenal.gg. Twitch took notice, signing him to an estimated two year, $2 million exclusivity deal.
#4 Markiplier (Mark Fischbach)
Earnings: $14 million
He built a following with humorous, over-the-top reactions to horror video games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and released a choose-your-own-adventure YouTube Original film last fall called A Heist with Markiplier.
