Highlights

  • Anno 117: Pax Romana aims to break into mainstream strategy gaming, offering a new setting and exciting gameplay for fans.
  • Popular big-budget strategy games like Age of Mythology: Retold and Ara: History Untold are set to release soon, promising unique gameplay experiences.
  • The strategy genre is having a golden age, with Anno 117: Pax Romana generating buzz for its early historical setting and potential growth in popularity.

The strategy genre is one of the oldest in gaming, dating all the way back to the early 1970s with games like Invasion on the Magnavox Odyssey. But while the strategy genre has remained a prominent part of the video game landscape for its entire existence, it's definitely remained a more niche genre. Nowadays, most casual players want something they can just pick up and play for an hour or two, like Call of Duty, and not some grand strategy game that takes a few hours of gameplay just to learn its basic rules. That being said, there have been one or two strategy games that have managed to break into the mainstream recently, and Anno 117: Pax Romana could be next on that list.

Debuting all the way back in 1998, the Anno franchise has always performed quite well, but it hasn't really broken into the mainstream gaming market all that often. The last entry in the series, 2019's Anno 1800, is the closest the series has gotten to mainstream success, hitting 2.5 million players by early 2023, a figure that its subsequent console release would have only increased. Anno only seems to be growing more popular with age and Anno 117: Pax Romana seems poised to continue that trend, though it's going to have some fierce competition on launch.

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Anno 117: Pax Romana Is The Most Recent in a Long Line of Exciting Strategy Game Announcements

It's a Great Time for Big-Budget Strategy Games

Originally announced back in September 2022, Age of Mythology: Retold is an upcoming remake of the beloved 2002 RTS classic. Following a similar gameplay structure to its better-known sibling, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology sees players construct an ancient-era town, gather resources, train some troops, and wage war against their neighboring enemy encampments. But where Age of Empires focuses on real-world history, Age of Mythology gives players access to some godly abilities. Age of Mythology: Retold has just been shown once again at the recent Xbox Showcase, and it's looking very promising, as is its position as a day one Xbox Game Pass title this September.

But Age of Mythology: Retold is far from the only big-budget strategy game gracing players' screens in the coming months. Being made by Oxide Games – a studio that includes some veteran ex-Firaxis devs – Ara: History Untold is another day-one Xbox Game Pass title heading to PC this year. While Age of Mythology is an RTS, Ara is set to be a grand 4X title that plays similarly to Civilization. But Ara: History Untold has plenty of unique tricks up its sleeve. Ara's simultaneous turns and alternate, 'What If?' historical timelines should be enough to set it apart from the crowd.

But Ara won't have long to enjoy the spotlight, as Civilization 7 has been officially confirmed for 2025. Though fans will have to wait until August for its full reveal, Firaxis has already teased some innovative new features for Civilization 7. If all goes to plan, Civilization 7 could be the biggest entry in franchise history, something that its simultaneous launch across PC and consoles should certainly help.

Anno 117: Pax Romana Offers Fans Something Completely New

The strategy genre is experiencing a bit of a golden age right now, and with all the aforementioned titles coming thick and fast, it's not going to be easy for the recently announced Anno 117: Pax Romana to carve out its place in the strategy game market. That being said, Anno 117 is already getting quite a bit of buzz from the strategy community. Anno 117 marks the earliest setting in franchise history by 1287 years, and it's a setting fans have been wanting to see for years now. That alone will be enough for many fans to check out the game upon its 2025 launch.