The next chapter of Civilization has just been announced. Civilization VI is coming this October. Watch the celebration of human history narrated by Sean Bean above.
Civilization VI’s defining feature drastically changes city building. Previously cities occupied a single tile or hex, regardless of size. Now cities will sprawl across the map. Each city upgrade will be built on its own tile, requiring intimate knowledge with the surrounding terrain.
In Civilization V, Firaxis altered the gameplay by removing stacks of military units. Each hex could now only hold a single unit. This changed the way anyone could wage war, creating more of a tactical war game. In Civilization VI, they’re doing the same thing with cities.
“We want to break people out of their consistent playstyles,” designer Ed Beach told Rock, Paper, Shotgun. “Your situation on the map is going to influence how you approach the tech tree for the first time. In Civ VI, almost every node on the tech tree has a boost attached to it – kind of like a miniature quest that you can fulfill to speed up the tech. If you can find a quarry site and get one up and going, you unlock the tech boost and that gives you half of the research points needed for masonry.” Geography will play a major role in your empire’s history.
Other new features include an optimized multiplayer experience. Civilization is notoriously long. An average map can easily take ten hours to finish. Civ VI will introduce shorter multiplayer modes designed to play entire matches in an hour or two. New tutorial systems will help ease new players into the complex turn-based world of Civilization. Enhanced Diplomacy will provide players with advanced AI opponents that adapt and learn.
Civilization is one of the most storied franchises in gaming. The series has sold over 33 million copies, including 8 million for 2010’s Civilization V. Previous Civ game Civilization: Beyond Earth was released in 2014 to mostly positive reviews. Expansion Rising Tide was released last year. Civilization VI will launch on October 21, 2016, and is already available for pre-order on Steam.
