Based loosely on Barry's novel Jennifer Government, the game launched on 13 November 2002 with the site originally founded to publicize and promote the novel one week before its release.

NationStates continues to promote books written by Barry, but has developed to be a sizable online community, with an accompanying forum board.

[3] On 21 January 2008, Barry received a cease and desist letter from the United Nations (UN) for unauthorized usage of its name and emblem for the game's fictional international organization which was based on the UN.

[10][11] Barry joked about the situation, stating "it's the place where players come together to debate and pass international law; in the five years the game has been running, they've implemented privacy safeguards, promoted religious tolerance, passed a universal bill of rights, and outlawed child labor, amongst 240 other resolutions [...] Clearly this wasn't anything the real UN wanted to be associated with.

[8] Players can determine their nation's name, flag, motto, currency, animal, capital, leader, and faith.

Issues are written by either Barry or by the players themselves with moderator editing[6][13] and are based on real-world politics with an "absurd and humorous direction".

[12] Players can also choose to join the World Assembly, a United Nations-like body concerned with the drafting and passage of international law.

[21] Super Jump Magazine's Andrew Johnston described NationStates as "a product of an era in which people still created websites solely as a means of self-expression".

[8] He was impressed by some of the activity in the forums, relating how "one nation accused another of conducting secret missile tests and posted photos to prove it.