The game tells the story of a resistance movement fighting in the near-future against the military occupation of the Western United States by a reunified Korea.

[3] The multiplayer component of Homefront is focused on large-scale, vehicle-based combat reminiscent of Kaos Studios' first title, Frontlines: Fuel of War.

The defining innovation of Homefront's multiplayer is its battle points system, which is an in-game currency that allows a player to purchase weapons, gear, and vehicles.

Players can earn points by completing objectives and increasing their number of kills, which they can spend on weapons, missiles, and drones or larger, higher-cost items like helicopters and tanks.

The game's backstory dates back to the 2010s, where tensions are high between North Korea and the global powers due to the country's military aggression, including its successful nuclear weapons test and the sinking of a South Korean ship.

[5] However, in 2013, one year after the death of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il, his son and successor, Kim Jong Un, successfully led a peaceful reunification with South Korea leading to the birth of the Greater Korean Republic (GKR), a technological and economic global power that comprises the military strength of the North and the economic power of the South.

Japan, significantly weakened due to the diminishing of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, was easily conquered by the GKR a year later and annexed shortly thereafter, becoming the first GKR-occupied state.

[5] In 2022, conditions in the United States worsened with the collapse of the financial system and an Asian bird flu epidemic that claimed six million lives; forcing the Mexican government to close their northern border.

By 2024, North Korea's annexation has continued throughout Southeast Asia, including its emerging economic powers, giving the GKR an empire reminiscent of Imperial Japan's Co-Prosperity Sphere.

[5] Finally, in 2025, the Greater Korean Republic, now a major superpower, launched a supposed advanced satellite that would be a signal of peace, but is actually a secret orbital weapon that detonated a high-altitude nuclear device over the U.S., creating an electromagnetic pulse blast that wipes out much of the nation's electrical infrastructure, including parts of Canada and Mexico.

[6] Jacobs sees that the North Korean troops have seized control of the town, taking potentially valuable residents into custody and executing resisters.

The group plans to steal several tracking beacons from a school used as a labor exchange facility, with the help of their "inside man" Arnie (Scott Sowers).

The rebels continue their attacks on the KPA, assaulting an occupied warehouse store, where Jacobs, Connor, and Rianna locate the trucks and plant a beacon on one of them.

They launch an assault from Marin County that succeeds in retaking most of the Golden Gate Bridge with ground personnel, A.A. guns, and fighter aircraft, as U.S. Navy reinforcements arrive.

Realizing that they are at a critical turning point, Connor lights a flare and advances on foot towards the enemy convoy and orders an airstrike onto his position, sacrificing himself to ensure that American ground forces can retake the city.

The news of the successful operation is reported by European media, with the Bay Area counterattack proving to be a major turning point in America's guerrilla war against the GKR occupation.

[12] Kim said, "We went to a very rigorous, academic research process to make sure to not only look at North Korea's current state but to look at historical examples how things could parallel and turn events.

THQ announced a tie-in novel, Homefront: The Voice of Freedom, written by John Milius and Raymond Benson, which follows a group of reporters making their way across America to explore the early days of the occupation.

[33][34] GameSpot praised some memorable moments and the well crafted multiplayer, however it criticized the short length and that it felt too familiar compared to other first person shooters.

[38] THQ has denied that the game was developed to piggyback off the tensions on the Korean peninsula, saying that "Homefront is a work of speculative fiction, set in the year 2027.

"[39] For its Japanese release, Homefront has been censored by removing all references to North Korea including pictures of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

[48] On July 31, Koch Media acquired the rights from Crytek and the game finished development under Dambuster Studios and was published by Deep Silver.