The Youthful Naturalist’s radical theories cry out for confirmation. But what, exactly, will be born out of his Ambition?

Evolution is a story in seven chapters, taking place across the wide Unterzee. The first chapter comes out next Thursday, June 23rd, and you can expect the remaining chapters to be revealed into 2023.

Evolution was born out of discussions about Furnace’s story arc during the Railway and how well it resonated with players. We know that there’s a lot of appetite from many of you for more ongoing stories like this, and we didn’t want to leave them out of our future plans. So, we knew we wanted to have a serial story that would be a companion to the new zee ports and enhanced zailing mechanics in Zeefarer, giving you a reason to visit the new locations.

Unlike the chapters of the Railway, new chapters of Evolution will come out independently of new Zee ports and other Zeefarer content. Islands in a sea are not like stations on a railroad, and we want to make it possible to unlock and access new zee ports in any order, even though the serialized Evolution storyline draws a specific path through them. So, unlike with railway stations, Evolution chapters and new zee ports will launch independently, at different times.

Some parts of Evolution take place in ports that we’ve seen in Fallen London before. Some take part in new ports that will come out as Zeefarer updates. And some take part in destinations that can only be briefly visited as part of the story arc — giving you a chance to glimpse places that cannot otherwise be seen in Fallen London. Expect new full ports to launch before the plot in Evolution gets to them.

Evolution will be available as long as you have a ship and have delved into the mysteries of the Dilmun Club — specifically, you will need to have completed a trip to the Court of the Wakeful Eye and obtained the quality Associating with Radical Academics at 75. The entirety of the serial story is free, and will be available to all players.