Civilization VI has been announced by developer Firaxis and their owner Take-Two Interactive. The next – surely epic – instalment in this legendary games franchise will be released on October 21st for PC and will bring a host of new features with it, including:
- EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain;
- ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment, and discover new cultures;
- DYNAMIC DIPLOMACY: Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations;
- COMBINED ARMS: Expanding on the “one unit per tile” design, support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry, or a warrior with settlers. Similar units can also be combined to form powerful “Corps” units;
- ENHANCED MULTIPLAYER: In addition to traditional multiplayer modes, cooperate and compete with your friends in a wide variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session;
- A CIV FOR ALL PLAYERS: Civilization VI provides veteran players new ways to build and tune their civilization for the greatest chance of success. New tutorial systems are designed to introduce new players to the underlying concepts of Civilization so they can easily get started on a path to victory.
Take-Two’s statement stated that:
“Sid Meier’s Civilization games hold a reputation for defining the 4X gaming genre for the past 25 years,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the silver anniversary of our longest-running franchise than launching the eagerly anticipated Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, which will provide the most detailed, beautiful and complete experience ever featured in a Civilization game.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI sets another milestone in the Civilization franchise, which has sold-in over 34 million units worldwide and changed the gaming landscape by bringing the strategy genre to unparalleled heights. In Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, cities will physically expand across the map to create new, deep strategic layers, active research in technology and culture will unlock new potential ways to play; and the large variety of leaders will pursue their own agendas based on their historical character traits as players race to achieve victory however they choose to play.
“Sid Meier’s Civilization VI builds on the firm foundation of the Civilization franchise, and we’ve added many exciting new elements,” said Ed Beach, lead designer at Firaxis Games. “The visual presentation of the game is inspired by the maps and tools of the Age of Exploration, and we’ve made several key gameplay changes such as expansive cities and active research that makes Sid Meier’s Civilization VI an entirely unique experience while remaining true to what makes the Civilization series so special.”
Although this trailer doesn’t show any gameplay, it does include the smooth, dulcet, Yorkshire tones of Mr Sean Bean, who narrates and could be in line to narrate the full game in place of the late, great, Leonard Nimoy – although this is just speculation for the moment.
Civilization VI is available for pre-order now, and will cost you $59.99/£49.99/€59.99. You can also opt for the Digital Deluxe Edition, which along with the full game will include:
- The 25th Anniversary Digital Soundtrack
- 4 Post-Launch DLC Packs adding:
- New Maps
- New Scenarios
- New Civilizations
- New Leaders
And this will come for a “bundled discount” price which is priced on Steam for $79.99/£69.99/€79.99.
So come on then…how excited are you for this one? How long have you been playing Civilization games? Are you already planning on getting this? And finally…which will you be playing on Day 1? Battlefield 1 or Civilization VI? Tell us in the comments below or on our forums!
