Shattered Union is a 3D, turn-based game of conquest, set in a discordantly imagined, alternate-reality United States. The country is at war with itself, and players can choose to lead one of seven bellicose factions: Greater California, The New Republic of Texas, the Heartland. Dixieland, the Yankee Union, or the exploitive European Expeditionary Force. The game's blend of familiar American battlegrounds and fictional nation-states encourages players to re-imagine history, and claim it all under their lone flag. Although orders are given in a turn-based fashion, they are executed simultaneously. Detailed unit animations and fully destructible landscapes bring action and chaos to the strategic gameplay. Multiplayer modes are supported for both online and offline competitors. Shattered Union was developed by PopTop Software, known previously for its well-received 1998 and 2003 sequels to Railroad Tycoon and its original city-building game, Tropico.