How Quarantine Zone Changed from a Warehouse Simulator to a Popular Zombie Game

In 2024, a small game called Supermarket Simulator became unexpectedly popular. Many people enjoyed playing it, and this got both gamers and game developers interested in making their own job simulation games.

One developer, Stas Staryk, who had experience in virtual reality training and worked for Epic Games, wanted to create his own game with his new company Brigada Games. Inspired by Supermarket Simulator, his team first tried making a warehouse management game. They made a short trailer and shared it online, where it received good feedback. However, they noticed that many other warehouse games were coming out at the same time, so they decided to change direction.

Next, the team thought about making an alchemist simulator based on real historical alchemists instead of fantasy ones. They liked the idea, but realized it was too complicated for their first project, so they dropped it.

Finally, because Staryk was a big fan of zombie stories like The Walking Dead, the team came up with the idea of combining a simulation game with a zombie theme. One team member suggested they make something like Papers Please but with zombies. This led to the creation of Quarantine Zone The Last Check.

Switching to a zombie-themed simulation was a smart move. Quarantine Zone became very popular and was added to over a million wishlists on Steam. The game also landed a publishing deal with Devolver Digital. Ironically though, the part of the demo that involves warehouse management was the least popular with players. Many complained about the difficult supply cart, proving that leaving the warehouse-only simulator idea behind was the right choice.

Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/quarantine-zone-was-almost-a-zombie-free-sim-about-managing-a-warehouse/