Yesterday, Firaxis games announced that the next installment in the long-running Sid-Meiers Civilization series would be released this fall on the 24th of October.
Beyond Earth, as its name implies, sees the series taking to the stars, where entirely new civilizations are born from earth’s fledgling colonists. Rather than choosing a historic civilization at the game’s start, players decide which corporate backer funded their colony’s migration. This is important, as your backer will determine what type of ship you arrived on, and what technologies and resources you have access to at the start of the game.
New also is the addition of a ‘technology web.’ Whereas previous Civilization games had a ‘technology tree’ that allowed you to follow branches in your civilization’s technological achievements, the new web system reportedly gives you even more options than ever before.
“The technology web is organized around three broad themes, each with a distinct victory condition,” Firaxis explains on the game’s website. “Players will have to choose carefully, however, as technologies cannot be shared between civilizations.”
As something of a spiritual successor to 1999’s Alpha Centauri, Beyond Earth sounds like an intriguing mix of strategy and alien sci-fi. How the game will play is another matter. We’ll let you know what we think when we get our hands on it.
In the meantime, check out the trailer and E3 walkthrough below.
Peter Yankowski
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