Ubisoft Announces Anno 1404

Ubisoft has unveiled Anno 1404 at the Leipzig GDC, saying that it plans to revive the city building franchise which was initially published by SunFlowers and developed by Related Designs. In 2007, the French based company acquired both the publisher and part of the developer; the franchise was interesting enough to get a revival. The game is expected to arrive on PCs sometime during March 2009.

The big difference is that Anno 1404 will be powered by another graphic engine, developed by Blue Byte, who are also responsible for The Settlers: Rise of an Empire, allowing the game to be more detailed and interesting for the player. The gameplay is said to be very much related to Anno 1701, with the player beginning with just a ship and the resources required to set up his first city.

The other big change is a geographical and cultural move to the Far East. The cities look very different, with less corners and more rounded shapes. There are also different color palettes used and different citizen models involved. The shift will modify some of the resources and the products available in Anno 1404.

Initially, your city and civilization will be pretty simple, with building materials and with food being the primary things that you will need to provide. As you develop your settlement, putting up a marketplace and a church, people will start coming in, with more and more needs. As you strive to fulfill the needs of your people, they will begin giving more money by paying taxes, which you can use to fuel your expansion.

Nothing crucial of the gameplay of Anno 1701 seems to be changed but the developers say that there are some bits of information which they are not ready to reveal at this point in time. The game is still a long way from being ready, so we can wait for more news as the release date draws near.