Ubisoft revealed the gameplay for the latest entry to the Anno series, Anno 117: Pax Romana.
The long-running city-building series by Ubisoft Blue Byte has covered various era of human history, from the Industrial Revolution as seen in the most recent Anno 1800 to realm of sci-fi in Anno 2205.
Anno 117 (all the numbers add up to 9, yes) goes far back in time to the days of the Roman Empire as you play as a governor tasked in running a city in the various realms under the empire’s rule. This entry is being developed by Ubisoft Mainz, part of Ubisoft Blue Byte.
The new gameplay reveal gives a good look of how the city-building should feel like. There will be various regions to build a city on including Latium (based on the region surrounding actual Rome) and the far-flung wetlands of Albion (based on the southern parts of modern-day England, the Roman Empire was that spread out in its peak).
Anno 117 is still mostly a grid-based city-builder but you can build diagonal roads. Resources like wood can be smartly managed and be sustainable on its own. Logistics is a crucial part in getting faster production so where you place warehouse can hasten or slow the supply chain. Expect fires to break out from time to time. Making the residential area desirable is also a balance, as some won’t appreciate being too close to buildings like a pig farm, but would love to be next to bakery (despite the fire risk).
Trading resources is an important aspect of Anno 117, as some resources won’t spawn on your chosen island of governance. You can trade with other governors, or wage war. So the RTS aspect of Anno is still well and alive here with ship and ground warfare available.
Anno 117 introduces religion gameplay. Having followers of a deity will bring gameplay bonuses. The trailer showed how Neptune provides buffs to ship speeds and production of sea resources, while Mars makes your army stronger and of higher morale. Expect other Roman deities to be featured in the game.
You can expand your rule by conquering other governors’ lands, or even expand to parts unknown. In the case of Albion, the game would allow you to either preserve the Celtic tradition of the existing population, of have them undergo Romanization and change their culture.
Also, some of the far-out shots shows how sprawling and dense of a city you can build, which should make city builder fans giddy.
Anno 117: Pax Romana is expected to launch in Winter (end of year) 2025 for the PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect) and Xbox Series X|S. A simultaneous multi-platform launch.