Firaxis announces Civilization: Beyond Earth

Get ready for some exciting 4X action in spaaaace! Firaxis has announced the next game in the Civ series, titled Civilization: Beyond Earth.

It’s the spiritual successor to Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. The game takes place following the science victory in Civilization V.  You venture from Earth to colonize a new alien world. Gameplay will be much like past Civilization games with a few new systems. Instead of the usual settlers, you’ll start off with your ship and whatever supplies you brought with you. It’s a mix up from past games where you picked a nation, and that choice didn’t really effect early gameplay that much.

There will now also be a tech web instead of a traditional tech tree, making the game more non-linear. Choices range from classic sci-fi technology to advances in DNA augmentation that will blend human and alien. New philosophy systems are included, called Affinities, which will affect play style. These include Wealth, Supremacy, Purity, and Harmony. What you chose will change the direction the colony goes in, and will inspire conflict between factions.

Aliens now present a new opponent for players along with the traditional colonial powers. A new satellite layer will allow you to build and launch orbital weapons. It’s a fresh take on the turn based strategy game, and we’re excited to see what’s being cooked up. More deals are trickling out from PAX East. We’ll keep you posted.

The launch window for Civilization: Beyond Earth is Fall 2014.

Source: IGN