In a grim near-future, the world is gripped by a catastrophic energy crisis known as "The Long Emergency," triggered when global oil production peaks and begins its irreversible decline. Compounded by pandemics, economic collapse, runaway climate change, and a devastating nuclear war that renders much of the Middle East uninhabitable, civilization teeters on the brink as alternative energy sources fail to fill the void. Relations between East and West crumble, giving rise to two rival superpowers: the Red Star Alliance and the Western Coalition. When Red Star forces launch a surprise assault on the Coalition amid a desperate scramble for the planet's last remaining oil fields in the Caspian Sea, scattered skirmishes rapidly erupt into all-out global war. The player is thrust onto the shifting front lines of this brutal conflict for the world's final resources.