George Orwell’s Animal Farm Is Becoming a Videogame

It’s not every week George Orwell makes his way into two pieces of gaming news, but strange times certainly do lead to strange headlines. 75 years after the publication of Orwell’s influential novel Animal Farm, a collaboration of indie developers have announced the iconic story is making its way onto PC and mobile platforms this fall in Animal Farm. Developers Nerial (creator of the popular Reigns series) and The Dairymen (composed of Andy Payne, founder of Just Flight and AppyNation, and Bossa Studios’ Imre Jele) aim to create an experience that allows players to witness firsthand “the corrupting nature of power” in their upcoming title. Additionally, the Orwell estate itself is also involved in the game’s creation, providing guidance and expressing excitement for the team to “shine a new light on Orwell’s perennial classic.”

Animal Farm is billed as a strategic adventure game in which players have to manage resources, defend the farm, and keep its various inhabitants content- a task made all the more challenging as the game forces players to choose which animals they help and which they ignore. With picturesque illustrations and narration provided by Assassin’s Creed: Origins’ Abubakar Salim, Animal Farm seemingly seeks to firmly retain it’s literary roots while making the jump to a shiny, new medium, where different audiences can engage with the political allegory still relevant today.

“History seems to repeat itself. And once more, Orwell’s classic has become a painfully relevant warning as some Western democracies started using tools and language eerily similar to those of oppressive regimes of the past,” project founder Imre Jele said.