Ubisoft took some time during Gamescom 2019 to share a lot of very important details about The Settlers. The next entry in the long-running series was announced at last year's Gamescom with a release of late 2019. This year, we've learned that the date has been pushed back to 2020. We were also shown more of the game's modes, the ways to win, and what collector's editions look like.
The Settlers is a real time strategy series set in a medieval fantasy world. It began in 1993 as a PC game, and this new game continues that tradition. Only this time you'll have to go through Ubisoft's store, the UPLAY+ service, or the Epic Games Store to get it. It is now available for pre-order in several editions.
The Settlers Standard Edition is obviously the base game. The Settlers Gold Edition gives you early access by three days, the Expansion “Monuments & Merchants” and two decoration items, the Gazebo of Tranquility and the Wishing Well.
There are also two special editions that are only available to European customers. The Settlers Entdecker Edition is a physical set only sold in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Poland. This also includes the Gazebo of Tranquility, as well as special art and a soundtrack. Finally, there's The Settlers Collector's Edition. It gives you everything from the previous versions, as well as a letter from the game's original creator, an art book, flower seeds, and a real life collector's box to put it all in.
As far as the actual game, Ubisoft revealed three modes: Campaign, Skirmish, and Multiplayer. There are both PVP and PVE activities. The map apparently utilizes a new "procedural map generation technology" to create new landscapes every time you play.
The last thing revealed was the victory conditions. Players can win in one of three ways. The Combat Strategy involves raising a might army and conquering the land. The latest revealed is the Glory Strategy. Players choose one hero character to represent them in an arena, with citizens of both territories watching. Losing will lower the morale of the people, making you ripe for conquest. There's also the third option, the Faith Strategy, which will be unveiled at a later date.
It sounds promising so far, at the very least a decent competitor to Civilization and Age of Empires. We'll know more once we approach the 2020 release.