Human Element is the first game being developed by the independent game company Robotoki, which was formed by Robert Bowling after he left Infinity Ward following the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The premise of the game centers on the question, “What is the greatest threat in a zombie apocalypse?”; Bowling believes it is the fear that the walking dead instill in the survivors, who lead them to do unreasonable things to survive. The game focuses on the survivors more so than the zombies, "the human element", and takes place 35 years after the zombie apocalypse began.