Category: Union Update

Hey Anno Community,

Due to a recently discovered potentially savegame-breaking issue in version 1.5, we decided to move the release of “Prophecies of Ash” and Patch 1.5 by a week to April 30th.

We always want to create the best player experience, so, thank you for your understanding.

The Patch Notes (originally announced for today) will also slightly move and be posted latest Monday (27th) here on the Anno Union. In the meantime, earlier this week we released a blog detailing some of the improvements and changes we’re adding with the patch; if you haven’t checked it our yet, we certainly recommend you doing so.

We reached a player milestone!

In significantly more positive news, we reached our first player milestone:

We’re celebrating 1,17 million governors for Anno 117: Pax Romana!

Thank you for all your support, Anno Community! We’re looking forward to improving your experience with our game further in the coming months.

Free Weekend

As you could already see at the end of the video above, Anno 117: Pax Romana will have another Free Weekend, starting tomorrow!

Play the game for free from the 23rd until Monday the 27th or have friends and family members join you for a nice co-op game.

The version includes the entire base game, is not time-limited and your savegame carries over if you decide to buy the game following the Free Weekend.

Hey Anno Community,

Exactly a week ago we were celebrating Anno Day with all of you with a 9-hour livestream where we went through Anno history and had a glimpse of the (very near) future with the Prophecies of Ash DLC for Anno 117: Pax Romana.

With today’s Union Update we would like to recap the latest news from the past week and what’s coming next in the Anno universe.

Celebrating Anno Day

What a special day celebrating with you all, Anno Community – Anno Day was a success! We hope you enjoyed spending time with us going through Anno history – because we sure did. Each segment of the livestream brought back memories for everyone in the chat and the dev team. Thank you all for joining us last week and a thank you to CityPlannerPlays for visiting us in Mainz and joining the livestream.

But of course, it wasn’t just about the past: we had a glimpse into the future with gameplay for Anno 117: Pax Romana and its first DLC, Prophecies of Ash – which will release April 23. So close! In the meantime, make sure to check out the trailer below:

And if you would like to catch on the full 9-hour livestream, you can find the VOD here.

During the livestream we also had quite a few giveaways. Congratulations to the winners! Please check your messages on Twitch to get your prize.

Many of you also asked us where to find the art book, cookbook and vinyl, so here are all the links for you:

• The Art of Anno 117: Pax Romana
• Anno – Das offizielle Kochbuch (German only)
• Anno 117: Pax Romana Exclusive Edition Deluxe Double Vinyl

Livestream next week

If you would like to see more gameplay footage before diving into the DLC yourself, we have great news for you: we’re planning a livestream on April 22^nd at 5:00 PM CEST to show you even more raging fires, fountains of lava and mountains of ash. It’s also a great opportunity to ask any remaining questions or voice any concerns you might have to Jan (Game Director), Tobias (Senior Game Designer) and Dominik (Game Designer). So, make sure to tune in on Twitch next week!

Prophecies of Ash DLC

Speaking of the upcoming content to Anno 117: Pax Romana, there’s no better way to get into volcanic mood than to read not one but TWO DevBlogs on the topic.

The first DevBlog will give you an overview of Cinis, the continental island added with the Prophecies of Ash DLC, and a mysterious new character, Caecilia.

Of course, the island comes with its pros and cons. Pros: biggest island in Anno history so far, plenty of space for a huge Latium capital, plenty of resources and river slots. Cons: Occasus, a giant active volcano, with rivers of lava and scorching rocks falling from the sky.

Therefore, to be ready for what’s to come, make sure to check out our second DevBlog to learn how the volcano works with its phases and mechanics.

As the release of Prophecies of Ash is just around the corner (April 23rd), we will soon share more on Patch 1.5, so make sure to check the Anno Union on:

• April 20^th for a blog highlighting improvements coming as a free update with patch 1.5
• April 22^nd for the full patch notes.

What’s next

Yes, we’ve been talking a lot about the Prophecies of Ash DLC these days… but what’s next?

Well, Prophecies of Ash is just the first DLC of the year. Then it will be time for The Hippodrome DLC in August, and a grand finale with the Dawn of the Delta DLC in November! All these DLC are part of the Year 1 Pass.

Future updates will also include more improvements and quality-of-life features, like expanding the statistics menu, a note-taking functionality and the mod browser.

In addition, for all the beauty builders out there, in June we will release the second Cosmetic DLC, Blooming Cities Pack! For all the fans of overgrown gardens – this will be just perfect for you.

What about the third Cosmetic DLC you see on the map? We will keep this as a secret for now.

And with this mystery, we conclude today’s Union Update. Thanks, once again, for making Anno Day so special and the continued support!

Hey Anno Community,

It’s one week since the release of the “Marvellous Mosaic Pack” and it’s been great fun to observe in which ways you are using the various groundplates and mosaics.

Today, we have a bunch more news for you in this blog on what’s coming up in the next days and weeks, starting with…

The Free Weekend

As originally announced on Monday, today marks the start of the first Free Weekend for Anno 117: Pax Romana – lasting until Monday, March 2^nd!

You can play Anno 117: Pax Romana for free during this time period on Ubisoft Connect, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

This is a great time to convince some friends to try the game and make full use of Anno 117: Pax Romana’s coop-mode to teach them the ropes.

On top of that, the game is also on sale during this period on all platforms – the best opportunity to continue any savegame from the free weekend period.

Twitch Drops

Alongside the Free Weekend, you’ll also be able to get two new Twitch Drops between now, February 26^th, and March 12^th. These two player logos can be earned on any Anno 117: Pax Romana livestream on Twitch if you accumulate the required watch time:

• Watch 1 Hour: Callinectes Logo
• Watch 2 Hours: Venusian Shell Logo

How Do Twitch Drops Work?

Follow these steps to make sure you’re set up to earn Drops:

• Step 1: Link your Twitch account and Ubisoft account. Click here to link accounts now.
• Step 2: Watch eligible streams. You’ll earn progress toward various items by watching streams for 1 hour or more, see above for details.
• Step 3: Claim your rewards. When you’ve earned a Drop, be sure to claim it in your Twitch Inventory. Once complete, your rewards will be waiting for you in-game.

Tavern Trailer

We also want to make sure you didn’t miss this:

What happens if a Patrician, an Eques and a Libertus walk into a bar? – Well, they talk about all the rumours they’ve heard, of course! What else will happen this year? Did you hear about that volcano? Horse racing?

Watch our Year 1 Teaser Trailer for more:

Patch 1.4.1

Next week Thursday, March 5th, we’re planning to release patch 1.4.1 on all platforms.

This smaller patch will address several recent issues like for example:

• The desync that happens if a co-op partner doesn’t own the Cosmetic DLC but tries to move objects that are part of the pack
• The issue that resulted in raytracing being disabled on consoles since patch 1.4
• Issues with Albion-related construction menu entries both when using mouse & keyboard as well as when using a gamepad

The full patch notes will be published next week.

UI/UX Blogs

Furthermore, here’s a heads-up on what you can expect in March!

Over the course of the next weeks and before we start talking about the “Prophesies of Ash” DLC in more detail, we’ll take you behind the scenes of our UI team. Senior UI Designers Christoph and Eva as well as Lead UI Designer Alexander will tell you about how we tackle both UI Design in general and the design of all the icons in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Annoverse Discord Contest

We also want to remind you of the screenshot contest the team of the “Annoverse” Discord server is holding right now – with a physical prize from Lexip: an Anno-branded mouse & mousepad combo.

Find our more on this dedicated thread on the Annoverse.

Discord Quest

Finally, we want to make you aware of another “Discord Quest” related to Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Starting today until March 12th you can earn additional “Discord Orbs” to unlock various cosmetic items on Discord by watching an Anno video. This requires a Discord account. Check out the Quest here.

Hey Anno Community,

Do you know someone who you’re sure would love Anno 117: Pax Romana but has hesitated so far? Is there that one person you’d love to play the co-op mode with?

Well, we have just the thing for you: a Free Weekend starting Thursday, February 26^th, and lasting until Monday, March 2^nd!

Play Anno 117: Pax Romana for free during this time period on Ubisoft Connect, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Tavern Gossip – what does the future hold?

Somewhere in Latium, an unlikely group assembled in a tavern. What they discussed there? Oh, just some rumours and speculations on what this year’s DLC will add to Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Listen in to their conversations below and learn what really concerns the Libertus.

Will you reassure the Liberti? Already planning your travel to Aegyptus? What are you most looking forward to?

Upcoming Twitch Drops

Alongside the Free Weekend, you’ll also be able to get two new Twitch Drops. These two player logos can be earned on any Anno 117: Pax Romana livestream on Twitch if you accumulate the required watch time.

Twitch Drops will be live on February 26 from 6PM CET | 9AM PST Time and will conclude on March 12 at 6PM CET | 9AM PST.

• Watch 1 Hour: Callinectes Logo
• Watch 2 Hours: Venusian Shell Logo

How Do Twitch Drops Work?

Follow these steps to make sure you’re set up to earn Drops:

• Step 1: Link your Twitch account and Ubisoft account. Click here to link accounts now.
• Step 2: Watch eligible streams. You’ll earn progress toward various items by watching streams for 1 hour or more, see above for details.
• Step 3: Claim your rewards. When you’ve earned a Drop, be sure to claim it in your Twitch Inventory. Once complete, your rewards will be waiting for you in-game.

Fresh news reached us from the Empire: architects and artists have joined forces to provide more options to beautify your cities!

In fact, these novel decorations seem to extend all the way to Albion!

Want to know more? Want to get insights into the development of these new cosmetics?

Then tune in on Thursday at 5PM CET | 4PM UTC for our livestream on Twitch with Art Director Reiko and Expert Artist Rolf!

As usual, our stream will run for about 1h and will be available afterwards as VOD to (re)watch.

Anno Union comment section

Finally, a note on the comment section: technical issues with the implementation of the Ubisoft Account login system resulted end of last year in any login attempt resulting in a “login loop”.

Subsequently, we deactivated the comment function on our blogs to prevent confusion. The issue is still under investigation but we hope to bring it back soon (coming weeks), as we know how important the opportunity to directly comment below our announcements and DevBlogs here is for parts of our community.

We’ll keep you updated.

Patch 1.3.2 is now live on all platforms!

Please make sure to download the patch especially when you’re playing multiplayer, as not only does the patch include more fixes for desyncs, but all players of a match will also need to use the same version of the game for multiplayer to function correctly.

We have shared the full patch notes yesterday, you can find them here:

Check patch notes HERE.

Roadmap

As announced previously, the next patch (version 1.4) is coming in February. We’re aiming for February 19^th and have a very long list of fixes for you. As usual, we’ll release the patch notes closer to the release, after we’ve finalized and validated the update.

We’re not stopping there, of course, as we have a year full of content planned, as announced last year:

We’re in the last stages of working on and testing the first DLC, called “Prophecies of Ash”, releasing in April. It expands the Latium region and adds a new, huge island as well as various new functionalities. Expect us to start sharing more details in late March/early April.

Other teams within the Anno team are working on the other two DLC of Year 1 for Anno 117: Pax Romana: “The Hippodrome” (August) featuring a grand monument for chariot races and “Dawn of the Delta”. The latter will add a new province inspired by Egypt with its own unique population tiers, goods and… some more things we can’t talk about quite yet

We’re very much looking forward to sharing more with you soon via blogs and livestreams.

On top of that, your feedback and suggestions have not gone unnoticed either, of course. Upcoming patches and updates will also include quality of life improvements and changes based on your comments. This includes challenges, improvements to the trade route screen, content for the Hall of Fame and more.

Collaboration with Youtooz

As announced last year, we’re collaborating with Youtooz to bring two items from the game into the real world as bricksets!

Starting in May 2026, you’ll be able to build the Anno 117: Pax Romana Amphitheatre Monument as well as the Emperor’s Quinquireme in your living room.

More info and pictures can be found on their website.

Happy New Year, Anno Community!

We hope you had a great start into 2026.

The year will be filled with Anno content and news, let’s get started right away with an overview of the next couple of months:

On January 29th, we’ll release patch 1.3.2 with several more bug fixes as well as balance changes – the full patch notes will be available on release day.

After that, more content and fixes will drop in the second half of February. More details in a few weeks.

Additionally, we’ll have several DevBlogs lined up covering not only the topics of music and sound (originally presented in a livestream in December by our Audio Team) but also insights into the work of the UI and Art teams on various aspects.

Expect more details into our plans for 2026 and – later – also the DLC in the coming weeks and months. We’re also looking forward to showing you more in dedicated livestreams on our Twitch channel in addition to these blogs.

Finally, a few words on the topic of snow:

The snow intended as an easter egg for the holidays was more intense for several of you than planned, and was therefore deactivated on PC on the 25th. Unfortunately, it was not possible to do the same on consoles and we apologize for the inconveniences this has caused over the last weeks for everyone playing on PlayStation or Xbox.

The topic will be revisited this year in preparation for the next holiday season to provide a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

Hey Anno Community,

Here we are at the end of a special and eventful year: 2025 was a huge milestone for Anno and the Anno team, with the release of Anno 117: Pax Romana. So many things have happened throughout the year and today we would like to have a look at 2025 and recap the latest news.

Version 1.3 of Anno 117: Pax Romana is live

In case you missed it, this week we released version 1.3 of Anno 117: Pax Romana, which fixes several bugs, crashes and performance issues and resolves various causes for desyncs. If you missed the Patch Notes that we shared last week, you can find them here.

If you encountered any issues following the patch, please let us know via the Bug Reporter website.

A look back at 2025

A lot has happened in the past 12 months. It all started with the first teaser of the year back in January, showcasing diagonal roads, which kind of blew up and created some concerns for the Anno grid (fear not, it’s still there). Plus, in January we held the final Community Contest, where we asked you to design an island for Latium; speaking of, have you spotted it on the map while playing?

Where it all began – many months ago…

While we were slowly introducing you to the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana throughout the first few months of 2025, we were secretly getting ready for our big comeback in May, when we first publicly showcased gameplay. Seeing your reactions when the first trailer and all the videos by content creators dropped, was priceless.

And of course, back in May we also celebrated the 30^th Anniversary of Ubisoft Mainz! Originally founded as Related Designs and having developed games like No Man’s Land and Castle Strike, the studio is now most known for working on – you guessed it – Anno! Together with our other colleagues at the studio, including teams working on Rainbow Six and Beyond Good and Evil 2 we celebrated three decades of game development.

One thing we loved about 2025 was having the chance to meet so many of you in person at gamescom – where we even held our biggest Community Event! Plus, we had a very special guest with us: the Town Crier himself was there to celebrate with all of us. Thanks to all of you who came around to watch our panels, queue FOR HOURS to play the demo, or just to say hi and share your love for the game with us.

But of course, let’s not forget another important thing that happened at gamescom 2025: Anno 117: Pax Romana won the awards for Best PC Game and Best Consumer Booth! Well, it’s hard to beat a 4.5-meter statue of the Town Crier…

With all these things happening throughout the year, 13^th November arrived quickly. Seeing Anno 117: Pax Romana out in the world has been both unbelievable and fantastic at the same time (and a little bit scary).

Anno 117: Pax Romana Wrapped

We know, Anno 117: Pax Romana has been out for just over a month, but we still wanted to provide some stats to wrap up the first few weeks of the game and celebrate your achievements! Safe to say you’ve done pretty well – congrats, Governors!

See you in 2026!

We cannot wait for you all to see what’s next for Anno 117: Pax Romana. After all, this was just the beginning.

• We’ll have more insights into the work of different departments for you, both via DevBlogs and dedicated livestreams.
• In early spring, we’ll have more information on the first DLC: Prophecies of Ash.
• And we have some more surprises planned that we can’t talk about just yet.

We would like to thank each and one of you for your continued support throughout the years, and especially 2025: you, Anno Community, made the release of Anno 117: Pax Romana truly special.

Finally, we would like to wish you all happy holidays and an amazing start into the new year. May 2026 bring everything you want and more!

The Anno Team