Pollution
Pollution reduces production efficiency in a region. It compares the recent output of the companies located there with the region's pollution capacity. Product type, quality, worldwide activity and regional infrastructure all affect that balance.
How pollution affects production
Use the map's Economic view to compare pollution across regions. Open a region's details to see its Pollution percentage.
For a normal employee shift, the pollution step uses:
Production after pollution = production before pollution × (1 − 0.9 × p)
Here, p is the region's pollution percentage. For example, 30% pollution means p = 0.30.
| Regional pollution | Output retained at this step | From a base of 100 units |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | 100% | 100 |
| 10% | 91% | 91 |
| 30% | 73% | 73 |
| 50% | 55% | 55 |
| 100% | 10% | 10 |
These figures isolate the pollution step. Other production bonuses, penalties and rounding still affect the final result. A region at 30% pollution therefore does not simply remove 30% of employee output.
Work as Manager is calculated separately. Personally owned companies apply 20% less pollution in their WAM calculation; country and holding WAM use the full regional percentage. Ownership and the other production modifiers matter when comparing final output. See Work as Manager.
Production points
The game adds up the actual goods produced by companies currently located in the region. This includes output from player employees, NPC employees and Work as Manager. Each product is converted into pollution points using its type and quality.
The history window begins at midnight seven days before today, in server time, and includes production since then, including today's output. It is a calendar-based window rather than an exact rolling 168 hours.
Points per unit
| Product | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw materials: Grain, Iron, Titanium and Fuel | 1 point per unit, regardless of company quality | ||||
| Ground weapons | 1.2 | 1.848 | 2.928 | 4.44 | 6.384 |
| Food | 4 | 6.16 | 9.76 | 14.8 | 21.28 |
| Aircraft weapons | 2.67 | 4.1118 | 6.5148 | 9.879 | 14.2044 |
| Airplane tickets | 6 | 9.24 | 14.64 | 22.2 | 31.92 |
For finished goods, the quality multiplier is:
Points per unit = Q1 points × [1 + 0.18 × (Q² − 1)]
Example: 100 Q5 ground weapons contribute 100 × 6.384 = 638.4 points before rounding. The game groups production by item and rounds each item's point total to a whole number before adding the regional total.
Raw-material production and factory production both count. Producing Iron and later using it to make weapons creates production entries at both stages of that chain.
Regional capacity
Capacity is the reference amount used to turn production points into a pollution percentage. It is not a hard production limit.
Regional pollution = min(100%, 100 × regional production points / regional capacity)
Regions share a worldwide base capacity. The game calculates it from a player allowance, recent NPC market consumption and the server's configured pollution-capacity multiplier. The region's Industrial Zone then increases its own capacity.
Player allowance
Each counted player contributes a theoretical allowance of 20,609.05 points per week. This is a fixed balancing allowance, not a measurement of what that player actually bought, consumed or produced.
| Daily allowance component | Quantity | Pollution points |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials | 200 of each of the four resources | 800 |
| Q4 food | 20 | 296 |
| Q4 aircraft weapons | 50 | 493.95 |
| Q4 ground weapons | 180 | 799.2 |
| Q4 airplane tickets | 25 | 555 |
| Total per day | 2,944.15 | |
| Total for seven days | 20,609.05 |
To count, an account must pass the game's active-account checks, normally be level 7 or above, and have at least two combined employee-work or manager-work history entries during the previous eight completed calendar days. Today's work is excluded from this population check. The level requirement is waived during the server's first release week.
NPC market consumption
Recorded NPC market purchases from the recent seven-day window add capacity using the same item weights as the table above. They increase the worldwide allowance, which is shared across eligible regions.
For example, a recorded purchase of 100 Q1 ground weapons contributes 120 points to worldwide capacity before division and multipliers. It does not directly subtract 120 points from the selling region's production history. Ordinary player purchases do not receive this NPC capacity treatment.
Sharing capacity across regions
The calculation uses:
- A: the number of qualifying active players.
- R: the number of regions associated with countries that are available in the game. This uses each region's original country, rather than its current ruler.
- N: weighted points from the recorded NPC purchases in the recent window.
- M: the server's configured pollution-capacity multiplier.
- L: the region's Industrial Zone level, from 0 to 5.
Base regional capacity ≈ [(20,609.05 × max(A, R) + N) / R] × M Regional capacity = base regional capacity × (1 + 0.10 × L)
The game rounds the shared per-region amount and the globally multiplied amount to whole points. The max(A, R) rule means the player allowance uses at least one counted player per eligible region, even when fewer players qualify.
The live multiplier and NPC purchases can change capacity substantially. Use the region's current figures when planning; a player-count example alone is not a live capacity quote.
Worked examples
Turning production into a percentage
Suppose one company produces 100 Q1 ground weapons per day for seven days, all within the current history window:
700 weapons × 1.2 points = 840 production points
If the region has a chosen example capacity of 10,000 points, and no other production, pollution is 8.4%. A normal employee's pollution factor is then:
1 − 0.9 × 0.084 = 0.9244 → 92.44% retained at the pollution step
Additional companies and NPC or manager shifts add their own points to the same regional total.
How an Industrial Zone changes the percentage
Suppose a region has 6,000 production points and a 10,000-point base capacity. Keeping those production points fixed:
| Industrial Zone level | Capacity multiplier | Regional capacity | Pollution |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | ×1.00 | 10,000 | 60% |
| 1 | ×1.10 | 11,000 | 54.55% |
| 2 | ×1.20 | 12,000 | 50% |
| 3 | ×1.30 | 13,000 | 46.15% |
| 4 | ×1.40 | 14,000 | 42.86% |
| 5 | ×1.50 | 15,000 | 40% |
The increase is additive against base capacity: level 5 means ×1.50, not 1.10 raised to the fifth power. It does not remove a fixed number of pollution percentage points.
Managing pollution
Plan capacity alongside output. An Industrial Zone increases the region's pollution capacity by 10% per level. It also has a separate finished-goods production bonus, so its effects should be assessed together. See Region Buildings.
Distributing companies across regions can spread their production points. Compare the destination's existing production, capacity, resources and buildings before moving.
Relocation carries recent production with the company. Pollution history is assigned through the company's current region. Moving a company therefore moves its qualifying recent production into the destination's calculation; it does not erase that history. Relocation also has its own costs, restrictions and temporary output penalty. See Company relocation.
Practical checks before expanding:
- Compare pollution-adjusted output and operating costs, rather than the pollution percentage alone.
- Include both raw-material and finished-goods production in your plan.
- Allow for production by other owners and NPCs in the same region.
- Consider an Industrial Zone upgrade or a less concentrated regional production mix.
- Remember that older production leaves the history window over time; reducing new output changes the balance gradually.
Common questions
Does 100% pollution prevent work?
No. The percentage is capped at 100%, and a normal employee retains 10% of the amount entering the pollution step. Other work requirements and production modifiers still apply.
Does buying or consuming items as a player clean a region?
No. The capacity addition described here comes from recorded NPC market purchases. Player purchases do not delete regional production history.
Will moving a company reset its pollution?
No. Its qualifying recent production is counted in its current region.
Why did the displayed figure not change immediately?
Pollution and population figures refresh periodically. A new shift, market purchase or newly qualifying player may not immediately change every displayed figure.
Rules reviewed against the game backend on 12 October 2026. Numerical examples use the stated hypothetical capacities. Artwork is decorative concept illustration, rather than a gameplay screenshot. Related guides: Companies · Work · Region Buildings.