Anno 1800 open beta dated for April 12-14

If you’ve been nursing an old city-building itch, then Ubisoft may soon bear relief. An open beta for Anno 1800 has been set for April 12-14, two days ahead of the official launch.

The real-time strategy game, now under the development hands of Ubisoft subsidiary Blue Byte, marks the first new release after the franchise’s 20th anniversary. The games have been ping-ponging between various periods in human history, though most take place during medieval and renaissance times. We’ve stretched as far back as the 1400s, with recent releases briefly flirting with 2200s science-fiction territory.

Anno 1800, as you might surmise, happens at the cusp of the 19th Century’s industrial revolution. That spells plenty for a city-builder, with pollution and worker strikes now weaved into the gameplay (unsurprisingly, they’ve completely ignored the slave trade). Also new to the series is tourism, so you’ll want to be careful with planning or risk losing another source of income.

Older closed beta trailer here:

But don’t worry, all you hot-blooded folk out there — naval combat is still very much real and present. The studio has also brought back requested features such as individual AI opponents, shippable trade goods, randomly generated maps, and more.

Also, for those new to the series: Anno does have story-based campaigns alongside their sandbox modes, which does help to further set it apart from other strategy games such as Civilization.

You can sign up for updates and more info through the official site.

Anno 1800 sets sail on April 16 for PC.