How to play the Dead Space series in order

The Dead Space series is one of the best gaming franchises in recent decades with its gritty realistic take on survival horror. The tense atmosphere present in the games makes them a must-play for those willing to enjoy the gifts the genre has to give. With the first Dead Space game being remade, it is a great time to play the series for the first time or again for some players. With that in mind, here’s what the games look like in timeline and release orders.

Related: Dead Space remake reanimates a classic game, making it more difficult to put down than a Necromorph – Review

Dead Space Series in timeline order

Dead Space: Extraction

Dead Space: Extraction was released exclusively on the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3 back in 2009. Unlike the main Dead Space games, Extraction was a rail shooter and served as the prequel to the first game. It is set in 2508 and follows four survivors as they try to survive and escape the Necromorph outbreak of the USG Ishimura before the arrival of Isaac Clarke and his crew.

Dead Space/ Dead Space Remake

Dead Space is the first mainline game to be released and takes place right where Dead Space: Extraction ends. Protagonist Isaac Clarke, along with his crewmates Zach Hammond and Kendra Daniels, answer a distress signal from the USG Ishimura by going to the ship. Isaac is also focused on finding his girlfriend Nicole Brennan, who is a medical officer at Ishimura who also asked him for help. They later find out about the Necromorph outbreak.

Related: Is Dead Space a Remake or a Remaster?

Dead Space Mobile

Dead Space Mobile was released exclusively on Android and iOS devices and takes place in 2511. It follows Karrie Norton, also known as Vandal, an engineer sent by the Church of Unitology to vandalize power boxes across Titan Station. Not knowing the Church’s intentions initially, Norton performs her tasks and soon finds out that this has led Necromorphs to appear in the Titan Station. Swearing revenge upon the Church, Norton tries to escape the Necromorph outbreak.

Dead Space Ignition

Dead Space: Ignition is an interactive comic-style puzzle game, another style different from the mainline Dead Space games. Ignition also takes place in 2511, hours before Dead Space 2. It follows Franco Dellile, a technician working on the Titan Station during the Necromorph outbreak caused by Norton in Dead Space mobile. Franco is tasked with containing the outbreak and saving the people onboard it while also repairing the damages done on the station.

Dead Space 2

Isaac Clarke once again returns as the protagonist, this time on the Titan Station during the Necromorph Outbreak there. After being freed by Ignition protagonist Franco Delile from the Station’s hospital, Isaac must destroy the Site 12 Marker in Titan Station, the source of the Necromorph outbreak there. He teams up with Ellie Langford, a CEC pilot, and Nolan Stross, a patient from the hospital.

Dead Space 3

Dead Space 3 is set in 2514, three years after the events of Dead Space 2. Isaac Clarke has been hiding from EarthGov on the New Horizons Lunar Colony. After being confronted by Captain Robert Norton and Sergeant John Carver, he finds that Ellie Langford requires his help in Tau Volantis, which she thinks is the source of the Necromorphs. Isaac must navigate the horrors of the Tau Volantis and destroy the Necromoprhs once and for all.

Dead Space games in release order

• Dead Space (2008)
• Dead Space Extraction (2009)
• Dead Space Ignition (2010)
• Dead Space 2 (2011)
• Dead Space Mobile (2011)
• Dead Space 3 (2013)
• Dead Space Remake (2023)