Almost a year ago, New World Interactive and Focus Home Interactive announced Insurgency: Sandstorm. We haven't heard or seen anything about it since, but today a press release finally broke that silence.

　　The game is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and it looks much better than Insurgency, as you can see in the screenshot below. The following additional features have been now confirmed:

　　Expanded environment scale.Light vehicles for transportation and fire support.New game modes designed for vehicle gameplay.Competitive matchmaking, anti-cheat, and rankings system.Improved ballistics system including bullet drop and travel time.Interacting with the environment by climbing ladders and door breaching.Insurgency: Sandstorm is also betting heavily on its story mode, available both in single-player and four-player cooperative mode. There will be a female protagonist who's a Yazidi Kurd and the plot has been inspired by real events and people.

　　New World Creative Director Andrew Spearin once again criticized heavily the way most first person shooters approach story modes.

　　We are very excited to venture into the realm of storytelling to offer more depth for Insurgency. Shooters do not have to be about mindless killing, so players can stop and ask questions about the world a game represents, and find answers within the narrative. Historically, the avant garde in many art forms are who disrupt and redefine genres. For a decade Insurgency has been in that position, and we are emerging from indie obscurity to innovate the FPS genre.

　　New World also provided the following glimpse into the storyline of the game, with a combination of concept art and descriptions. Insurgency: Sandstorm will launch next year for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

　　A few years ago, in a familiar setting, the sandy streets of an Iraqi village. The tone of Insurgency: Sandstorm’s narrative shifts the typical shooter inspiration away from blockbuster military power fantasy movies more towards a dark and understated indie film rooted in reality.

　　With depth to the narrative, you must look beyond the surface, away from these typical streets, behind closed doors, in a dark room to discover our female protagonist. She is enslaved by radical insurgents, along with her sister and other young girls held captive.

　　A sandstorm engulfs the village and fighting erupts. By chance, a hole is blown into the wall and the girls escape. In the confusion of the storm, our protagonist is separated from her sister and friends. She is alone, wandering in the desert.

　　Present day. Our protagonist has enlisted with a rebel faction, fighting against the radical insurgents. They push through battered villages, hitting the insurgents hard. One day, a key piece of information is discovered and our protagonist’s world is not what it seems.

　　She breaks free from the security of the main group to embark on a personal quest. Accompanying her is another female fighter, her best friend who was held captive with her years earlier. Along for the journey are two foreign vigilantes: an American combat veteran of the war in the Middle East, and a French citizen who has never seen combat.

　　Along the path of their journey, several challenges emerge. Without a military force backing you up, that force may become an obstacle.

　　Essentially, the narrative is a road-trip story. It’s about these characters bonding through the many challenges that arise. Their diverse experience leads to interesting character dynamics, but ultimately their actions extend beyond their own volition.