Civilization V Arrives on September 21

2K Games has announced that the turn based strategy title Civilization V will be launching for North American gamers on September 21. No date has been officially confirmed for the European market but the launch should not be delayed for more than a few days. The new installment in the long running series will be coming through Steam, the digital distribution service from Valve. Civilization V will be using the Steamworks package to deliver updates, handle multiplayer and offer Achievements to gamers.

Civilization V is coming with goodies for those who are getting the Digital Deluxe Edition, which comes complete with access to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II and to his powerful bowmen. There are also behind the scenes features, which detail how the new Sid Meier strategy game was created and a map pack featuring Mesopotamia offered to those who pre-order the game.

A lot of strategy-minded players believed that, especially after the launch of two expansions and countless mods, there was nothing than could be improved on Civilization IV but the developers at Firaxis are hoping to show everyone that the formula can still be tweaked to deliver more of a challenge and a better experience.

The new Civilization videogame will introduce hexes to the game map, allowing only one military unit to occupy each one with stacks solely appearing for civilian units. This will emphasize the tactical element of combat and will make the conflict between nations more complex.

Neutral city states are also introduced to the map and players will need to carefully consider their diplomatic moves, choosing between taking them on early in order to expand and cultivating a relationship than can offer several bonuses. The importance of religion is also set to be toned down in Civilization V and the competing Artificial Intelligence leaders will get native language speech and more animations.