The virus known as XSB first appeared in 1990 in Chernarus, but only infected a handful of people initially. The first outbreaks were small and contained. Eventually they began to draw attention from the Russian government, which increased their activity in the region and eventually pushed toward annexation. The presence of the virus was kept secret for a decade.
As conflict between the Russian government and Chernarussian nationalists came to a head, it was weaponized and used in an attack on Moscow in 2001. Due to its delayed incubation it was able to spread both through the city and elsewhere in the world. Quarantines in Moscow gave way to an assault on the city by the Russian military. By the end of the attack, 9.5 million of the city’s inhabitants were dead. Of the roughly 500,000 that survived, most were asymptomatic carriers of XSB.
After the Moscow outbreak, XSB began popping up around the world. The early outbreaks were isolated and small in number, but became worse as the years went on. Countries would fall at different rates, but by 2010 nothing larger than a few isolated city-states survived. By 2015, a majority of humans were infected. In 2033 a new phenomenon emerged from South Zagoria and became known as the red mist. Mist’s appearance brought mutated creatures as it expanded outside of its point of origin. By 2038 the mist expanded throughout most of Eastern Europe, and by 2053 most survivors in Europe would be aware of its existence
The mist did not expand by engulfing large areas, but instead slowly rolling through large areas leaving most seemingly untouched. While with others, especially population centers the mist would linger for years or even longer. Many areas have never seen the mist leave
Nyheim City was originally built during the early years of the outbreak, sometime in the 2020s. The project intended to provide a safe environment from the infection, however due to circumstances potentially lost to time the entire project failed with area being abandoned for decades
The current year is 2053. The virus has ravaged the world for two generations. To most the world of comforts and security are a distant memory at best, or simply a dubious story they've heard a thousand times. A lucky few are born in the remaining stable civilization centers, although by this point most are no larger than city-states of various forms of governance. Access to electricity, education, and medical care is almost unheard of outside of well protected places as most struggle to survive, scavenging what they can and fleeing the hordes.
As the mist has reached the Nyheim area as it did everywhere else. However, since the early 2050 rumors would start circulating through remaining settlements in Europe that a group of scientists have created and deployed a way to fight the mist, to push it back away from civilization. Even though not everyone believes in these claims, enough were influenced by them to travel to Nyheim and see for themselves. A steady trickle of survivors from all sorts of places and walks of life converging on Nyheim has attracted attention from surrounding areas