Overview
Homefront is set in a near future America in 2027 when a now-nuclear armed Korean People's Army invades the USA. The game is written by John Milius, who co-wrote Apocalypse Now and wrote Red Dawn. The beginning gameplay is reportedly set in Montrose, Colorado.
One of the major portions of the story arc is built around not only the growth of the North Korean forces over the years leading to the year 2027 (the year in which the game takes place), but also the economic downfall of the United States of America, and the unrest that seems to grip the nation before the invasion.
Homefront is speculative fiction, set in a near-future, post peak oil world that features a significantly declined United States, and a united Korea that has built a massive alliance in East Asia. The Gate Corporation (a major private military company) also plays a minor role. The game focuses on the collapse of the United States, subsequent occupation by the Greater Korean Republic - a united Korea under the rule of the North - and the American Resistance that fights said occupation. The player is invited to join the American resistance, "using guerrilla tactics, commandeering military vehicles, and utilizing advanced drone technology", but the player may join the Korean Forces as well. The game will also feature vehicle based 32 player online warfare using dedicated servers. The game is planned to ship on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The game world also features fictional physics; for example,and objects of interest are magnetically attracted to the player.
Backstory and Timeline

The antagonists in Homefront were originally intended to be Chinese, but were later replaced by North Koreans for two reasons: a possible backlash by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the reality of economic interdependence between America and China that made the Chinese "not that scary." . Said Tae Kim, a former CIA field agent on the game's backstory, and a consultant: "we went to a very rigorous, academic research process to make sure to not only look at North Korea's current state but to look at historical examples how things could parallel and turn events. History repeats itself. From today to the day the invasion starts in the game, if you combine everything, the odds are very very slim this becomes true. But when you look at the storyline step by step, every step is a coin flip but a plausible step. So once you get there, it's plausible. And from there the next step is plausible as well. Even though the whole thing is fictional, it comes with plausible baby steps."
The finalized version of Homefront's timeline was released at end of January 2011.
Timeline

• 2011: North Korea faces another UN sanction over its latest nuclear test.
• 2012: Kim Jong-il passes away, he is succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.
• 2013: Kim Jong-un is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and featured on the cover of Time magazine for his accomplishment of Korean reunification.
• 2014: American military withdraws from the Korean Peninsula. General Motors declares bankruptcy for the second time.
• 2015: The effects of peak oil are felt as gas prices reach up to 20 dollars a gallon. Russia cuts off all oil trade with Europe. survivalist literature becomes best selling in America. China's influences diminish.
• 2016: America withdraws its military from Japan and other countries overseas, focusing on its instability back home. Texas splits from the United States, border bloodshed takes place as refugees from other states attempt to enter Texas.
• 2017: Martial law is declared in the United States as its infrastructure crumbles due to financial difficulties.
• 2018: Japan surrenders to the Greater Korean Republic, and is capitalized into a vassal state.
• 2019: The UN is dissolved.
• 2020: Canada closes its borders to Americans.
• 2021: Korean forces succeed in annexing many countries in East Asia. A new pandemic known as the Knoxville Cough begins to spread in the United States.
• 2022: Mexico closes its borders to Americans.
• 2023: The Knoxville Cough ravages the American public. The Korean People's Army reaches 20 million total personnel.
• 2024: The Greater Korean Republic starts launching their own satellites, claiming to bring a message of peace to the world.
• 2025: An EMP Burst is emitted by a Korean sattelite, it completely destabilizes the United States infrastructure. This is followed by the Korean seizure of Hawaii and landings in San Francisco.
• 2026: The United States is split into two as Korean occupiers irradiate the entire Mississippi River and occupies the Western side.
• 2027: The United States Armed Forces are completely scattered.

Gameplay

Single Player

Homefront's gameplay has been completely reworked from its origins in Frontlines: Fuel of War, focusing on a more cinematic, character driven experience.
David Votypka, the design director of Homefront, stated in an interview with G4TV that the gameplay will be based around guerilla style tactics, inspired by Half-Life 2. The same interview also contained information stating that one of the important facts concerning your surroundings is that they are built to try and build a connection with the user by using real companies and brands.
Multiplayer

The multiplayer component of Homefront is focused on large-scale vehicle based combat reminiscent of Kaos' first title, Frontlines: Fuel of War. The defining innovation of Homefront's Multiplayer is its battle points system, which is an in-game currency that allows player to purchase weapons, gear and vehicles. Players earn points by taking objectives and getting kills and are forced to choose between many small purchases such as weapons versus larger, higher cost items like helicopters and tanks. It has been confirmed that the multi-player will support up to 32 players in one match, with 16 players on each team. Homefront on Xbox 360 will be getting a timed exclusive map called "Suburbs", which will be set in the Suburbs of America and will be infantry / drone only.
The Multiplayer takes place in the period before the U.S. Armed Forces were completely scattered.
PC Version

Homefront's PC version has been outsourced to Digital Extremes, a Canadian developer responsible for numerous Unreal Tournament games and Bioshock ports. Frank Delise, the executive producer of the PC version has stated that the PC version of the game will feature exclusive content and dedicated servers. Additional exclusive features include clan support, DirectX 11 graphics, and first person vehicle cockpits. It has also been confirmed that Homefront will be released on Steam. Also, spectator mode and demorecording will be included along with a dedicated server executable, server tools and RCON.
Sequels

Despite the fact that the game has not yet been released, THQ is confident enough about the quality and buzz that they are already planning a sequel. In an interview with VG247, Danny Bilson stated that "Like, I know what Homefront 2 is. It’s not a repeat of Homefront 1. It doesn’t take place in the same place or anything like that." Bilson has previously stated that Homefront would feature stories in London and on the international stage.
Other media

THQ announced a tie-in novel that explores the early days of the occupation of the United States by the GKR, and sets the stage for the game itself. The story focuses on the journey of a group of reporters making their way across America, and while not a specific focus of the narrative, the characters from the game are involved. The novel is written by John Milius and Raymond Benson and is due out before the game's release. It is part of what THQ is describing as a "vast transmedia strategy" for Homefront.