Hinted at, but not yet officially announced, Civilization VII could already have (at least) one competitor for next year.
On February 17, a relatively terse tweet piqued the curiosity of strategy game fans, and even more so of turn-based fans. A tweet of just a few words - " Hot off the presses. Next Civ game in development " - which could be translated as "Hot off the presses. Prochain jeu Civ en développement " (Just off the presses. Next Civ game in development), which obviously suggests that Civilization VII is well and truly in the works at the Firaxis studio, even if we should be wary until the name has been clearly made official and the title actually presented... We could do the Civilization Revolution thing again, who knows.
🚨 Hot off the presses. Next Civ game in development!!!!!!! 🤯
- Sid Meier's Civilization (@CivGame) February 17, 2023
While we're waiting for this confirmation, studio C Prompt Games and publishing partner Paradox Interactive have sprung a surprise by announcing the 2024 release of Millennia, a 4x game that seems to be closer to the Civilization concept. On the Steam product page already online, we can read this pitch: " Create your own nation in Millennia, a turn-based historical 4X game that tests your strategic prowess over 10,000 years of history, from the dawn of humanity to possible futures ".
Behind the project are veterans of video game development such as Age of Empires II, Age of Mythology and Starcraft II. C Prompt Games and Paradox Interactive explain that the studio and project are headed by Rob Fermier, Ian Fischer and Brian Sousa. Millennia is set to cover 10,000 years of history, placing us in command of a people who we must lead through 10 ages, allowing us to divide up the evolution of the game. Beyond the inevitable exploration, development and confrontation aspects common to all 4x games, Millennia promises a certain innovation with the introduction of the concepts of " national spirit " and " investment domains ".
The national spirits are there to distinguish the different nations and bring a bit of personalization, with the player able to choose several national spirits during the game to evolve the people and the bonuses they enjoy. Alongside these are six " investment areas ": arts, diplomacy, exploration, government, engineering and military. In these areas, the player must invest resources and, in return, obtain other types of bonus to materialize the directions taken by his people.
On paper, Millennia seems to have a lot going for it, and visually the result is interesting, though not particularly beautiful. It's amusing, however, to note this "return to favor" of the 4x strategy game genre, since, let's not forget, Microsft presented its own project, Ara: History Untold. Developed by the Oxide Games studio, it too is due for release in 2024, and this time, the aesthetic aspect is particularly meticulous. Three 4x in 2024? Yummy!
