Observe

Observe is a strategy simulation in which civilizations rise, form alliances, wage wars and collapse under economic and political pressure. You can let autonomous national AI guide events, intervene in God Mode, or take direct control of any country on Earth. You can also build worlds, create scenarios and campaigns, and program national AI with the built-in code tools.

A living simulation

Set the world in motion and watch nations pursue their survival across a changing geopolitical landscape. Borders shift as armies advance, aircraft fight and forces make amphibious landings. A news ticker reports declarations of war, broken pacts, ideological uprisings and global crises, while map overlays show military power, stability, wealth, food reserves, cultural demographics and alliances.

Economic strain can fracture overextended empires, radical ideologies can spark civil wars, and oppressed populations can rise for independence. Industrialized powers build missile silos and stockpile atomic warheads; nuclear strikes devastate populations and leave permanent radioactive wastelands. When civilizations fall or a world reaches its end, procedural generation can create a new world and continue the simulation.

Intervene or rule

In God Mode, you can alter the simulation in real time. Declare wars, enforce peace treaties, form coalitions, annex territory and establish puppet regimes; redraw borders with brush tools; force military breakthroughs or collapse front lines. You can also found nations, incite revolutions, trigger famines, change armies, treasuries, technology levels, nuclear arsenals and capitals, or adjust how nations' AI behaves.

You can instead take direct control of any nation while the rest of the world continues to act. Govern by expanding industry, balancing the treasury, managing food supplies and negotiating alliances or peace. On the military side, direct army groups along front lines, set strategic objectives, coordinate naval fleets and launch amphibious invasions.

The 1912 campaign

The built-in Great War campaign begins in 1912, with Europe facing escalating diplomatic crises and the prospect of global war. Lead a Great Power through political events and crises that shape its response, then determine the conflict's outcome. Enact laws, research wartime technologies, convert civilian factories and coordinate armies and dreadnought fleets, while contending with starvation, economic collapse and socialist uprisings at home.

Create worlds

The in-game cartography tools let you draw custom worlds and turn them into playable simulations. Sculpt coastlines and borders with adjustable brushes, precision pens, line tools and flood fill; paint provinces by hand or outline perimeters to fill political regions. You can import real-world or fantasy maps as references, work across art layers, and create maps at up to 8K resolution or modify Observe's detailed Earth map.

You can also define regional connections, deep-sea zones, straits and shipping lanes, then share maps through the Steam Workshop or browse community-created worlds. The built-in Earth map contains over 3,400 historically authentic regions.

Shape nations and rules

For any map, set starting geopolitics, demographics and rules of engagement. Found nations by establishing territory, capitals, flags, military forces and initial diplomatic relations. Create ideologies with their own gameplay modifiers, war justifications and diplomatic tendencies, and set ethnic populations, cultural homelands and potential separatist movements.

Terrain such as mountains, forests and plains affects combat and agricultural output, while food supplies are linked to population survival. You can form colonial empires, protectorates and puppet alliances without merging them into a single state. World parameters let you adjust global tension, AI aggression, stability decay and other core simulation mechanics.

Write campaigns

Create historical or fictional campaigns from custom scenarios, with scripted dilemmas, progression systems and distinct national mechanics. Events can represent historical turning points, breaking news and player dilemmas, with complex triggers and cascading consequences. You can also design technology trees, laws, economic parameters and starting military orders of battle, and add event illustrations, interface themes and original soundtracks. Completed campaigns can be packaged and shared through the Steam Workshop.

Program national AI

AI Studio uses an integrated MiniScript engine to let you define how nations think, set priorities and wage war. Coding is optional, and the game can be played without writing code. Built-in lessons introduce scripting, and you can test your logic in live scenarios; Arena battles pit custom AI scripts against one another, with global leaderboards and script sharing through the Steam Workshop.