Anno 1800 builds foundation with free beta, April 16 launch

Anno 1800 immerses itself in the triumphs, tragedies and flourishing tourism of the Industrial Revolution. — AFP Relaxnews

Industrial-era city-building game Anno 1800, seventh in a series whose franchise titles always add up to the number 9, makes a big impact thanks to a free weekend open beta ahead of its April 16 launch, after which an Epic Games Store deal kicks in.

After spending almost a decade in future settings, where players sought out high-tech, low-energy solutions to ensure their cities flourished, the Anno series explores the dawn of the Anthropocene in this week's Anno 1800.

The well-anticipated strategy has players instigating a glorious new era of manufacturing, construction, diplomacy and discovery.

Upheaval in the workforce, the promises of efficiency and profit, and the quest for oil pre-empt the Anno 2070 choice between a high-tech eco-friendly paradise or polluted extinction.

City-planning blueprints and global tourism are among new factors arriving in Anno 1800, while international combat and city construction are not separated as they had been in previous installments.

Yet while Anno 1800 finds itself high in the bestseller charts on Steam, Fanatical and the Humble Store, the highly anticipated release is to vanish from the Steam sales charts in the very near future.

Following on from an earlier partnership over The Division 2, publisher Ubisoft is transferring all post-release sales of Anno 1800 over to the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft's own Uplay storefront, where it's to remain exclusive for an unspecified period of time. – AFP Relaxnews