Sometime in the early 21st century, a giant Mutagen Bomb was detonated right over New York City by an unknown party. The enormous amount of the mutagen contained therein triggered, in addition to the associated mutation effects of an earthly organism, an enormous ecological shock on earth, which quickly transformed the entire world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Humanity as a whole was wiped out, either because a part of it turned into mutants, or the rest perished as a result of the shock of the violent and sudden change in their physiology. Only the mutants were found to be adaptable enough to survive these abruptly induced conditions. The disappearance of an orderly society, anarchy and the struggle for bare survival became part of everyday life; marauding mutant gangs roam the deserts to take victims and supplies by force, or hide themselves and their meager supplies behind solid fortress walls.