Perimeter is a real-time strategy game by the Russian studio K-D Lab, published in Russia by 1C and released in Europe on May 21, 2004 and in North America on June 29, 2004. Its rules are unusual for the genre: ground must be terraformed before anything can be built, and energy, the only resource, depends on how much terraformed land the Energy Cores cover. Those cores can also raise the Perimeter itself, a barrier that destroys enemies passing through it.
Only three basic units are built in factories; stronger units are made by morphing groups of them, and the process can be reversed. The story follows floating city-ships called Frames through the Psychosphere, split into three factions: Exodus, Harkback and Empire.
The stand-alone expansion Emperor's Testament appeared in Russia on November 6, 2005, and Perimeter 2: New Earth followed in 2008. In 2021 lead creator Andrey 'KranK' Kuzmin published the source code under GPLv3, and the Legate Edition came out on May 20, 2024.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Perimeter | Windows | Jun 29, 2004 | — | 1 |
| EU | PerimeterEnglish Wikipedia lists Codemasters as a publisher without naming regions. | Windows | May 21, 2004 | — | 1 |
| AU | Perimeter | Windows | Jun 4, 2004 | — | 1 |
| RU | ПериметрExact Russian release date is not given in the source. | Windows | 2004 | 1C | 1 |
| WW | PerimeterGOG.com store release. | Windows | Nov 16, 2012 | Fulqrum Publishing | 2 |
| WW | PerimeterSteam release. | Windows | Apr 3, 2014 | Fulqrum Publishing | 3 |
| WW | PERIMETER: Legate EditionSteam; Windows and Linux. | Windows | May 20, 2024 | Association K-D Lab | 4 |
Also known as: Периметр RU1Perimeter: Legate Edition WW1
Box art by region
EU Perimeter
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentLegate Edition (2024)
The 2024 Legate Edition adds Linux support, high-resolution textures and mod support, and includes the stand-alone expansion Emperor's Testament.1
Translations
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English Official
—2004Windows · Russian originalReleased
The official English version came out in Europe, Australia and North America in 2004; the current Steam editions have full English and Russian voice-over.1
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Perimeter
Original game; Windows; English and Russian (full audio)
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
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Steam Purchase
PERIMETER: Legate Edition
2024 edition with Emperor's Testament; Windows and Linux; English and Russian (full audio)
Checked: 2026-10-134store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
Buy the original Perimeter on Steam or GOG, or the Legate Edition on Steam, which runs natively on Windows and Linux. The engine source code was published on GitHub under GPLv3 in 2021, without the game data.1
Best version
The 2024 Legate Edition is the most complete: it bundles Emperor's Testament and adds Linux support, high-resolution textures and mod support.1
Reception
Metacritic rates it 77/100. GameSpot gave 8.2/10, IGN 8/10 and PC Gamer UK 90%. GameSpot nominated it for Most Innovative Game of 2004, but the award went to Katamari Damacy.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.