anno-1404
Latest
Anno Online sails into open beta
Ubisoft's Anno Online has opened the city gates for an open beta, granting all access to the free-to-play city building strategy game. Interested lords and ladies should set course to anno-online.com for access. New players logging in during the first week of the open beta will receive a "premium ship." Players who participated in the closed beta will receive several rewards. The greatest gift? Their data won't be wiped per the standard beta transition, so they can continue on. Based on Anno 1404 (previously known as Dawn of Discovery in the States), Anno Online has players build and develop a medieval city, support the population and develop trade routes. Anno Online will also add a guild system sometime this month for players to cooperate with friends.
Anno Online goes into closed beta
City-builders rejoice, for Anno Online has gone into closed beta for its English version. The title is an MMO sequel to the Anno 1404 single-player strategy game and will be playable entirely within your browser. The goal is to build up medieval cities over time, establish trade routes, and expand one's empire over multiple islands. As the beta testing progresses, Ubisoft has plans to implement a guild system next month. Each guild can hold up to 25 people and construct guild halls for gatherings. You can check out the trailer for Anno Online after the jump! [Source: Ubisoft press release]
Anno coming to US on Wii and DS as Dawn of Discovery
Ubisoft is bringing the Anno series of historical strategy games to Wii and DS in North America under the title Dawn of Discovery this summer. It's also coming to PC -- but another strategy game on PC isn't really that big a deal. Dawn of Discovery features city-building gameplay in a simulated 1404 AD. According to the game's premise, King George's sons William and Edward are sent out to settle new territories in order to gather resources for a drought-ridden homeland. As you build your society, you will gain access to new developments from neighboring cultures through developing trade routes around the world. The Wii version, which marks the first Wii release for the series, even features 2-player cooperative play. All three versions are due out this summer. %Gallery-45958% %Gallery-45959%
You don't know what you're missing: Ubisoft delays 'unannounced franchise' (Anno, too)
Reporting its sales for the fiscal half-year today, Ubisoft also announced two software delays. "In view of the good first-half trends and the positive outlook for the third quarter, Ubisoft has decided that Anno as well as the as-yet unannounced franchise which were previously scheduled to be released in 2008-09 will now bolster the line-up for 2009-10," reads a release schedule update from the report. To be clear, Anno and "Unannounced Franchise" are likely two unrelated projects -- the former a strategy game set in 1404 and the latter, well, that's anyone's guess. The vague articulation of the mystery delay leaves the details open to speculation. Is this a new franchise? Or a new entry in an existing franchise? We'll update when we've got clarification.
GC 2008: Ubisoft screenshot roundup
Ubisoft has released beaucoup d'images as part of the media overflow we call Leipzig Games Convention 2008. Below and after the break, check out new galleries of screenshots for Raving Rabbids TV Party, Prince of Persia, EndWar, HAWX, Far Cry 2 and more. It's just like Ubidays, only with no Beyond Good & Evil in sight. Oh, mon Dieu!%Gallery-30166%
GC 2008: Ubisoft announces ANNO 1404
click to enlarge Ubisoft took the opportunity afforded by the Leipzig Games Convention to announce ANNO 1404, the publisher's first ANNO offering after acquiring the popular PC "building-strategy" property and its German publisher in 2007. In ANNO 1404 – scheduled for release worldwide in March 2009 anno domini – "players will get to know the culture and technology of the ancient Orient while learning the tricks of local trade, diplomacy and economy in order to build their own metropolis." We'll see if Ubisoft's international marketing muscle can help the ANNO titles find an audience outside of ol' Europe. %Gallery-30168%
