Well, here’s a nice surprise. Here I was thinking I’d have to wait until Civilization 7 to get another edition of the defining Sid Meier strategy sim, and all of a sudden, 2K has launched a new Civ game right out of nowhere. If you’ve aced Age of Empires, crushed Crusader Kings, and want a slightly speedier substitute to Civilization 6, the new 4X builder, subtitled Eras and Allies, is available, well, now.
This should fill a little time before the Civilization 7 release date. Arriving out of nowhere, Civilization Eras and Allies is now available on mobile devices. A somewhat stripped-down strategy game, but still in the vein of Civilization 6, if the launch of Eras and Allies comes as a minor shock, it’s because 2K has been hiding it in plain sight. See, this was originally a game called Conquests and Alliances: 4X Empire Builder which 2K soft launched a few months back and has been quietly testing. Now, it’s been updated to an official Civilization game, and given the new title.
“Civilization: Eras & Allies is a new standalone free-to-play mobile 4X social strategy game, featuring exciting new gameplay mechanics designed with the mobile social strategy gamer in mind,” 2K says. While Eras and Allies is not currently available in every territory, if you check the iOS or Android stores, you may find the 4X game is ready to download right this second.
With regards to Civilization 7, 2K insists the ongoing development of Eras and Allies won’t impact the timeline of the upcoming Firaxis sequel, since the mobile Civilization is developed by an external studio. “As we announced earlier this year, Firaxis Games is in active development on the next iteration of the legendary Civilization franchise,” 2K says, in a statement to IGN. “We are working with an external partner specializing in mobile social strategy games to develop Civilization Eras & Allies.”
So, a new Civilization game. That’s a nice way to wrap up 2023.
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