Union Update: Community Event, Closed Beta invites and more

Hey Anno Community,

It’s July! More precisely it’s the 11th of July, a date perfectly suited for a news round-up for Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Closed Beta

We start with a short public-service-announcement: Invites for the Closed Beta will be sent next week! Participants are randomly selected from all registered players, so, keep an eye on your inbox.

Like past playtests, the Closed Beta is subject to an NDA – so everything you see or experience during the test cannot be shared publicly but ONLY on the channels outlined in the invitation.

Gamescom event signup

As we announced last Monday, sign-ups for our Gamescom Community Event are now open! It will take place on 20th August, and just like last year’s Community Event, participants will be selected randomly. If you’re going to be around Cologne and want to attend the event and spend some time with fellow Annoholics and the Anno Dev Team, you can sign up here. You’ve got until Sunday 20th July to get your name on the list for a chance to be selected!

We’ll provide food and drink during the event as well as access to gamescom itself – travel and accommodation are not covered by us. Watch this space for more info on the Community Event and gamescom in general in the coming weeks.

Dark Horse Comics x Anno 117: Pax Romana

We know how much you love the art of Anno, so we’ve teamed up with Dark Horse Comics for “The Art of Anno 117: Pax Romana”. From concept art to character designs and meticulously crafted environments, this artbook is a treasure trove for the true Anno fan. It will release on 9th December this year, more info are available here while you can preorder the book on places like Amazon or (comic) book stores.

Find some impressions from the book below:

Upcoming

In the coming days and weeks until gamescom we of course won’t leave you completely without news.

You can soon expect a DevBlog on Game Production: Now that we’ve already talked about and shown so many parts of Anno 117: Pax Romana we’re taking a step back and look at the planning side of things. How are we planning a project like Anno 117: Pax Romana?

We also really want you to meet your future rivals – or new best friends: We’ll be talking about the diplomacy system and introduce you to some of the characters you’ll meet in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

And for more behind the scenes information, we’ll also be taking a look at the work of the Game Design team, their processes and the creation of feature concepts and design documents.

Of course, you can also expect us to step in front of the camera for a livestream again, specifically on the Diplomacy topic, and share more updates on gamescom and generally news on Anno 117: Pax Romana with you!