A new installment of the Anno series has been announced via a fresh trailer. It will be released in 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. We travel to the year 117 and an era where fans see a lot of potential.
This is the game: During Ubisoft Forward 2024, Anno 117: Pax Romana was unveiled as the next part of the Anno series. Anno is an absolute classic for strategy and building game fans: Here, you essentially create a massive empire from scratch, where one element leads to another.
Accordingly, the new setting of Anno 117 fits right in: This time, it takes you to the Roman Empire, where you are supposed to manage a province as a governor.
The trailer presents the game under the motto “Build it and they will come”: A speaker first addresses a yawning emptiness, where only a few goats are grazing. But the surroundings develop, and soon the first sails of new settlers can be seen on the horizon.
Here you can watch the trailer:
Fans are really excited about the long-gone era
Here are the reactions: Even though the short video reveals basically nothing about the game except for the setting, many fans reacted positively. The predecessor, Anno 1800, thrilled many in terms of gameplay. If this can be translated into the new setting in the Roman Empire, many are likely to be satisfied:
- “The perfect scenario for Anno, and the last game, Anno 1800, was perhaps the best in the series. I think some hype is warranted,” writes user “born-out-of-a-ball” on Reddit.
- “Anno 1800 is one of my favorite games of all time. I hope this game connects to all the great things this game added to the series. I feel like many fans wished for a Roman game for the next installment, even though Anno 9 would have been a great name (this is the eighth game in the series),” thinks user elfranco001 (via Reddit).
- And user trouble_bear writes: “Finally, an Anno game that is set even further back in the past. This or a setting in the Bronze Age was my hope. I hope it turns out well; as a fan of the Roman era, many games seem to be cursed (I’m looking at you, Rome Total War 2 and Imperator Rome)” (via Reddit).
With the year 117, Anno goes further back in time than ever before. Anno 1404 was the oldest era the game has covered so far – now we leap significantly further back.
Many players in the YouTube comments also express enthusiasm about being able to build their cities in the Roman Empire. However, some find a drawback: The trailer only mentions releases for PC through Ubisoft or the Epic Games Store. So far, Steam is missing from the list of platforms for which the game is set to be released, even though the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PS5 are included.
What else is known? The official website for the game explains again the setting, that as a governor, you take care of cities in the Roman provinces – you will be sent to the twin provinces of Latium and Albion. It seems that it is also possible to go against the mandates of the Roman Empire.
As usual, the game will revolve around the construction and trade of a city that continually expands into a metropolis. There is talk of culture, but also of rebellion. It seems that there will be different choices throughout the game on what to focus on – just as you know it from Anno. And if you want to shorten the waiting time for the game: Here you can find 5 good strategy games that you can play against your friends.
