Category: Union Update

Hey Anno Community,

It’s patch day! Today we’re releasing Version 1.5.2 with several more fixes – including the issue with ships renaming themselves (which didn’t get properly fixed last time), flickering ground plates and some adjustments to rivals’ behaviour related to wars.

Please have a look at the full Patch Notes here!

Upcoming updates

The next planned update will be on June 18^th and include some more fixes as well as the second cosmetic DLC: Blooming Cities.

We’ll follow that up with another update in early July. More details on those closer to their release date.

Livestream

On June 10^th we’ll be holding a livestream to show you the “Blooming Cities” Pack in action with Art Director Reiko, Project Coordinator Dennis and Clémentine, Junior International Product Manager.

Aside from talking about the very flower-y content, we’re also looking forward to updating you on our plans and answering your questions.

The stream will start on June 10^th at 5PM CEST | 3PM UTC on our Twitch channel.

Upcoming and what we’re working on

Looking further into the future, August is, as previously announced, the time of the Hippodrome! Our second gameplay DLC will release around mid-August letting you build an enormous monument in your cities and hold races to entertain your population. You won’t have to wait too long until we start talking about it.

This release will be accompanied by an update as usual, Update 2.0, further improving the game for everyone. To give you a little teaser:

• An often-requested feature is making a comeback: the note function!
  • Leave notes for yourself as reminders for later in your play-session or when you load your savegame a few days or weeks later and attach them to specific objects (e.g. ships).
• Take even more phantastic screenshots with the photomode
  • We have seen and admired what you can do with the postcard mode already – with a free camera and some effects you will have even more possibilities
• Time limited challenges will be available via Ubisoft Connect
  • Aside from the challenge aspect itself, you will get XP for your Ubisoft Connect profile level and Fame points to use in the Hall of Fame

Additionally, we are working on a bunch of further fixes and improvements. Please note that these can still move into later updates depending on their complexity or in case of unforeseen issues. As usual, we will confirm the final changelog for Update 2.0 closer to the actual release in August. To mention just five things currently being worked on:

• We’re planning to add field workers to farms/plantations after adjustments to the feedback unit system
• We’re working on a solution to increase the value of the proconsul title, in order for it to be less easily lost upon taking actions the Emperor doesn’t like
• In the first-person easter egg, groundplates/roads shouldn’t disappear anymore in certain angles
• We’re looking into Raiders not being defeatable/spawning without their main building
• Sandarac Tree Nursery will be reclassified as plantation

Talking about both DLC and patches, in the last weeks we’ve held both playtests for “The Hippodrome”, as well as a very early playtest for “Dawn of the Delta”.

Like the playtests we’ve done in the year leading up to the release of Anno 117: Pax Romana, our goals here were to gather feedback on both the overall state, but also the aspects “fun factor”, balancing and UI/UX.

These types of closed playtests will continue for all future gameplay content, and while we can’t go into the details of the provided feedback here, we received valuable input on the UI/UX side of the Hippodrome DLC and its connection to the rest of the game, as well as the province layout of DLC 03 and the clarity/onboarding of its features.

Community Spotlight

Closing the update with a Community Spotlight once more, starting with this website DukeEntropy created: it lets you pre-plan trade routes in preparation for our next Anno 117: Pax Romana session.

To quote them: “I made a website to plan my Anno 117 island and trade routes. Since I cannot play anno during work hours, but I can go to the internet and plan my anno game during work hours.”

Check it out here: https://antondemeester.github.io/anno-planner/

Moving over to the art side, Dulcamarra recently shared a comic summarising her experiences with the volcanic eruptions.

You can find more of her art on her Instagram.

Finally, we also want to feature here some of the awesome screenshots you took for “Prophecies of Ash”, capturing both the island itself as well as the volcano and its eruptions in particular.

Patches and Updates

On May 11^th, we released Patch 1.5.1 with various bug fixes you can find here. We also added an additional Tier for each Latium and Albion in the Hall of Fame with more ornaments and other unlocks.

Right now, we are working on Patch 1.5.2, with a release planned for May 28th. It will address some other problems like not-buildable obsidian groundplates, various “dead tiles” in harbour areas, and the problem with ships changing their name which didn’t get entirely fixed with 1.5.1.

We will share the patch notes when we have finalised the patch, early next week.

Beyond that, another update is planned for mid-June with additional fixes and changes, as well as the release of the already announced “Blooming Cities” Cosmetic Pack.

Encountered an issue? Use the Bug Reporter!

If you encounter issues like the ones mentioned above, the best place to report them (or check if someone else has already reported them), is the Bug Reporter website:

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/anno/117-pax-romana/bug-reporter

This website allows you to submit bug reports for us to investigate, and you can also follow their current status as we start investigating, working on and ultimately planning in a fix for the issues.

Please also have a look if the issue you encountered has already been reported by someone else. In this case you can upvote the report and – even more useful for us – contribute to these existing reports: provide additional details, screenshots or a savegame or simply give more context on how this issue is impacting your enjoyment of the game.

It helps us both with our investigation as well as with the prioritization of issues for future patches.

Next livestreams

After a break, we’ll soon be returning to livestreaming on the Anno Twitch channel.

Aside from devstreams for e.g. upcoming (C)DLC like the “Blooming Cities” Pack and later also dedicated dev insights, we’re also planning to start a series of pure gameplay streams with a completely new savegame that we’ll carry forward into all future gameplay livestreams.

Stay tuned for precise dates for those streams.

Upcoming DevBlogs

In the second half of May and beyond we also want to go back to giving you some development insights outside of DLC content, similar to our articles on UI Design and UI Icon Design in March.

Upcoming are blogs first give you insights from the Art Team, when we talk “Fire and Destruction” on Thursday, May 21^st, before covering the topics of sound and music – which we already touched on last year in a dedicated livestream.

We also have some more topics on the UI & UX side we’d love to cover.

And, as usual, if there are other topics or departments you’d love to hear more about, don’t hesitate to let us know and we’ll see if we can make a dedicated article out of it later this year!

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.