Evil Genius 2: World Domination's first trailer teases a fiendish lair building sim

PC Gaming Show sponsor Rebellion has revealed the world exclusive first trailer of Evil Genius 2 live on-stage. The long-awaited sequel to the 2004 cult hit lair simulation game is introduced with a Team Fortress-y cinematic, and the subtitle of the game is revealed: the extremely apt World Domination.

Some background, then. In 2004, developer Elixir made Evil Genius, which drew mostly positive reviews, including a very strong 87% from our UK magazine, back in issue 140. At the end of 2004, it was revealed a sequel was in the works, but the studio shuttered the next year, leaving it up in the air. Evil Genius was up for grabs during the sale of publisher Vivendi's catalogue in 2009, as Blizzard and Activision merged, so Rebellion grabbed the rights to it. After a few spin-offs, in June 2017 Rebellion revealed that development had begun on a full sequel in Spring of that year.

Now, Rebellion is finally ready to break cover and show everyone its 'nefarious vision' for the project, as it puts it. While the above is not a gameplay trailer, it does give you an idea of what to expect from the game: a similar mixture of base-building and committing 'acts of infamy' in locations around the world. You'll also be tasked with setting traps for spies—something else that was part of the original. The tone looks pretty similar to the first game, too: James Bond-y, but just the right side of Austin Powers, with an art style to match.

This won't be the last we see of Evil Genius 2: World Domination at E3 2019. Expect further thoughts on Rebellion's revival of this offbeat classic in the neat future—it's on my long list of appointments for this week.

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Former PC Gamer EIC Samuel has been writing about games since he was 18. He's a generalist, because life is surely about playing as many games as possible before you're put in the cold ground.