Papers, Please

Papers, Please
Developer(s)3909 LLC
Publisher(s)3909 LLC
Designer(s)Lucas Pope
EngineUnity[1][note 1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, PlayStation Vita, Android
Release
  • Windows, OS X
  • August 8, 2013
  • Linux
  • February 12, 2014
  • iPad
  • December 12, 2014
  • PlayStation Vita
  • December 12, 2017
  • Android, iPhone
  • August 5, 2022
Genre(s)Puzzle, simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Papers, Please is a puzzle simulation video game created by indie game developer Lucas Pope, developed and published through his production company, 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for Linux on February 12, 2014, and for iOS on December 12, 2014. A port for the PlayStation Vita was announced in August 2014 and was then released on December 12, 2017.[4] A new port for iOS as well as for Android was released in August 2022.

In Papers, Please, the player takes on the role of a border-crossing immigration officer in the fictional dystopian communist country of Arstotzka, which has been and continues to be at political hostilities with its neighboring countries. The player must review travelers' passports and other supporting paperwork against an ever-growing list of rules using a number of tools and guides. Tasks include allowing in those with the proper paperwork while rejecting those without all proper documents, detaining those with falsified information, and balancing personal finances.

Papers, Please was positively received on its release, and it has come to be seen as an example of an empathy game and a demonstration of video games as an art form. The game was recognized as one of the greatest video games ever made along with various awards and nominations from the Independent Games Festival, Game Developers Choice Awards, and BAFTA Video Games Awards, and was named by Wired and The New Yorker as one of the top games of 2013. By its tenth anniversary, Papers, Please had sold more than five million copies.

  1. ^ "Papers, Please - Version 1.4.9 - Engine Update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. March 7, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Papers, Please Out Today For PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "Cramming 'Papers, Please' Onto Phones". Development Logs by Lucas Pope. August 6, 2022. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "Papers, Please Out Today For PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.


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