Ebbtide is Taking Zombie Strategy Games to a Massive New Scale Through Large-Scale Military Operations

Zombie games have explored plenty of different approaches over the years, but Ebbtide is attempting something considerably bigger than your usual survival experience. Instead of putting you in control of a single character struggling to survive against the infected, this upcoming real-time strategy game lets you command an entire military operation during a worldwide zombie outbreak.

With each new gameplay update, the project is looking more and more ambitious, with footage showcasing everything from large-scale military deployments to improved combat animations and hordes of zombies overwhelming entire areas. These additions also offer a better idea of the scale the developers are aiming to achieve.

What makes Ebbtide especially striking is the sheer size of its concept.

The game takes place during a catastrophic outbreak spreading across Los Angeles, where potentially more than a million infected threaten to overwhelm the remaining military forces. You’ll be responsible for coordinating National Guard units, police departments, Marines, armored vehicles, helicopters, artillery, and naval support while attempting to protect civilians and maintain control over the city. The developers are also planning an enormous campaign that eventually expands beyond Los Angeles and explores the outbreak's worldwide consequences. This expansion should give players a broader look at how different regions respond to the growing zombie threat.

Ebbtide places you in command of humanity’s remaining major carrier task force, known as TF1 Arc. Your primary task is to coordinate the military response as the infection spreads through various neighborhoods, destroys evacuation routes, and forces the remaining forces to make tougher choices.

But there’s more to the game than sending soldiers into dangerous areas and killing everything that moves. You’ll need to manage resources, protect important positions, coordinate reinforcements, and decide which locations are still worth defending. Every decision will have an impact on your forces and the number of civilians you can successfully save.

One of the most ambitious features is how Ebbtide connects its strategic operations map with the actual battlefield. Rather than separating military management and combat into different missions, the developers are creating a continuous environment where you can zoom directly into individual streets without encountering loading screens. You can then return to the larger operations map while the fighting continues in real time. Every soldier killed, zombie eliminated, and building destroyed is intended to remain part of the ongoing battle instead of disappearing through an automatic battle-resolution system.

This approach could make the experience considerably more engaging than a traditional strategy game.

You’ll be able to switch between managing the larger military operation and watching individual encounters unfold. The developers have also confirmed that players can take direct control of individual soldiers, tanks, and helicopters while the rest of the battlefield continues operating around them. Although the game primarily uses a top-down perspective, this added control should give you more opportunities to get involved in the action.

The Los Angeles campaign is divided into 15 districts, each of which can deteriorate as the infection spreads. There are three conditions for these places: old, crisis, and lost, which reflect the different levels of military control in the outbreak. You can pause the operations map or speed up time to four times normal speed, which gives you more flexibility when coordinating multiple operations. 

Consequently, you’ll need to decide whether to reinforce certain areas, organize evacuations, or abandon positions before the infected overwhelm your remaining forces. Civilian evacuations and logistical operations will also play an important role because you’ll need to transport supplies, soldiers, and refugees while maintaining access to important roads.

National Guard units, the LAPD, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department can receive orders to defend their positions, delay advancing hordes, or withdraw to safer locations. You can also request Marine reinforcements from Camp Pendleton, while attempting to rescue isolated units could force you to spend additional resources and put more soldiers at risk.

The infected themselves introduce another interesting challenge because they aren’t simply wandering around the city without any coordination.

According to the developers, a mysterious hive mind known as the Nexus controls the outbreak, organizing attacks against military convoys, surrounding defensive positions, and cutting off key supply routes. This means you’ll be dealing with an enemy intelligence that actively responds to your military operations rather than relying entirely on overwhelming you through sheer numbers.

You also won’t have complete information about the infected population. Only zombie hordes within your forces’ line of sight will appear on the operations map, meaning you’ll need to use your soldiers and vehicles to identify developing threats. If the Nexus prepares an attack against one of your convoys or defensive positions, you’ll receive a warning before it begins. 

The zombies also appear capable of interacting with the environment in some particularly dangerous ways. The developers have explained that infected enemies can climb over obstacles by piling on top of one another, potentially allowing entire hordes to scale defensive walls and reach rooftops. Zombies can also cling to helicopters hovering too close to the ground, making certain rescue operations considerably more dangerous. Soldiers who die during encounters can eventually return as zombies, meaning your casualties could become additional threats on the battlefield.

Military equipment is another major part of Ebbtide, with the developers including a considerable selection of recognizable vehicles and weapons.

You can command tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, LAV armored vehicles, Humvees, and attack helicopters such as the Apache and Viper. Blackhawk helicopters also let you deploy troops onto rooftops or use ropes to insert soldiers into locations where landing isn’t possible. Additionally, pressing the Tab key will let you take direct control of individual soldiers and military vehicles.

The latest gameplay update has also provided a closer look at the game’s helicopter deployment system. Several Chinook helicopters work together to transport soldiers and equipment as part of a larger military operation. Rather than just landing and dropping off troops, the aircraft stay in the air above the drop zone, while soldiers move to the back ramp and rappel down a separate rope. 

These details hint that the developers are really working to make military operations feel more realistic and connected. Ebbtide is still an ambitious project, and its various systems will need to work together properly when players finally get their hands on it. But the blend of grand-scale strategy, direct battlefield control, intelligent zombie behavior, and detailed military operations already sets it apart from other upcoming zombie games.