Earlier in the week 2K Games announced that developer Firaxis Games would be using PAX Est 2014 to announce their next big project. Well now we know what this project is. Beyond Earth will be the next main title in the long running Civilization series, following on from Civilization V which was released back in 2010. However this is not just a standard sequel. Beyond Earth drags the franchise into the far future, tasking players with leading an expedition to a new, alien planet and establishing their own civilization.
Even better, this new setting won’t just be for show and will bring with it a whole host of new gameplay features. Players have a huge amount of control over their starting position as they get to pick a culture and leader, then customise their spaceship, cargo and colonists to decide what kind of world they wish to build. Beyond Earth also offers a non linear technology tree and an improved quest system, as well as a new layer of strategy with the introduction of orbital units such as military satellites.
“The Civ team was excited about the opportunity to continue the story of Civilization into the future, because it allows the team to break free of historical context,” said the founder of Firaxis, Sid Meier. “We’ve always let our fans create the history of mankind, and Civilization: Beyond Earth will now let them create the future.” Meier also acknowledged that his newest game draws a lot of inspiration from his 1999 title, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centuri. ”It’s been quite a while since Alpha Centauri came out. We’ve got a lot of new ideas, have learned a lot, and there’s so much new stuff we can do with a science fiction setting. The Civilization series has come so far and we can do a lot of new stuff now that we couldn’t do before. We had an opportunity with people [at Firaxis] who had some great ideas on how to put this together–and it just all came together! We’re happy to be able to have a chance to do it.”
Fireaxis also revealed at the PAX East Panel that the Civilisation franchise has sold over 21 million units so far. Beyond Earth is sure to push that number much higher when it launches on PC this fall for $49.99.
Via Gametrailers
