Ubisoft Reveals Anno 117 Gameplay – A Roman Empire Builder Arrives in Winter 2025
Ubisoft has pulled back the curtain on Anno 117: Pax Romana as we got our first look at actual gameplay for the next major entry in its long-running city-building franchise. With a focus on Roman politics, culture, and military might, this installment promises to be the most ambitious Anno game to date. It is set for release in Winter 2025 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, and PC.
Build, Govern, and Expand in the Roman Empire
In Anno 117: Pax Romana, players take on the role of a newly appointed Roman governor sent by the Emperor to oversee and develop multiple provinces across the Empire. You’ll construct grand cities, manage resources, collect taxes, and decide whether to maintain loyalty to Rome or go
Your Choices Define the Fate of Each Province
Every action in Anno 117 carries weight. Will you embrace the culture of the local Celts, or enforce Roman customs and deities? Players can choose diplomacy and economic growth or take a more aggressive route.
This entry feels to have more emphasis on combat as trade routes need to be defended from rival governors and pirates. What many are excited about is that this entry will feature not only naval combat but land battles as well.
A Visual and Strategic Leap for the Franchise
Developed by Ubisoft Mainz, the team behind past Anno titles, Pax Romana is the entry that will hopefully raise the bar for the series with impressive graphical fidelity and freedom to build their city in any kind of landscape, be it in islands or mountaintops, any of Pax Romana’s terrain is said to be buildable for the player.
The game will also feature cross-play and cross-progression, a more staple feature now for most companies, giving player freedom to hop from one platform to another, continuing where they left off.
Anno 117: Pax Romana — Release Details
Release Window: Winter 2025
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect)
Features: Cross-play, cross-progression, large-scale province management, real-time battles, and player-driven stories
The amount of effort seen here gives me hope for Capcom’s future attempts at reviving classic titles, as Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the latest title of the once dormant classic franchise, comes back in the best way possible as it very well might be my game of the year contender.