Picture yourself wearing a toga, leading a prosperous Roman city. Anno 117: Pax Romana, the eighth title in Ubisoft’s Anno series, places you there. During the Pax Romana, a period of relative peace, the game becomes available on November 13, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
You’ll build cities, manage resources, and make decisions that shape characters as a governor. Unlike medieval city-builders like Manor Lords, which constructs dirty 14th-century cities, Anno 117 whisks you away to the peaks of Rome and offers a fresh spin on the genre.
The game’s historical setting also adds depth. You’ll navigate the politics and nuances of Roman or Celtic civilization, determining the personality of your empire. With this blend of strategy and storytelling, Anno 117 is an engaging chapter in the series.
Choose Your Path
In Anno 117, your journey begins with a choice: govern the Roman Empire in Latium or the Celtic kingdom in Albion. This decision influences your cities’ architecture and cultural flavor. For instance, Roman settlements feature grand temples, while Celtic ones lean toward earthy designs. Your role as governor involves constructing settlements, managing trade, and ensuring citizen satisfaction.
The game also features a cultural impact system. When you spread Roman or Celtic culture, you unveil unique buildings and technologies. This introduces a depth strategy since your decision affects more than just appearances. Resource management is still at its core, and you must balance food, material, and luxury resources to continue expanding.
Strategic Decisions Shape Your Reign
Strategy is at the heart of the game. Do you develop economic wealth through trade routes or expand through the military? Both bring with them different issues. For example, trade can make your economy powerful but vulnerable to competitors. Military conquest, however, takes away resources, which can drain your cities.
Additionally, story mode in this game allows you to choose Imperial loyalty or rebellion. Your decisions dictate your path and even allow replays through other storylines. Whereas Manor Lords is purely tactical warfare, Anno 117 is city-building and politics with deeper strategy.
A Visual and Auditory Feast
Anno 117 is a feast for the eyes with the majesty of Ancient Rome. Mosaics, crowded markets, and Colosseums in sumptuous detail transport the player to the time period. The amount of historical accuracy incorporated into the game makes it both entertaining and educational. Buildings, for example, are modeled after real Roman buildings, basing the experience upon reality.
Meanwhile, music, which is based on the sounds of each era, adds to the immersion. While you govern, lute music and Latin hymns offer ambient background noise. The sensory detail distinguishes Anno 117 from other strategy games and brings all cities to life.
How Anno 117 Is Different
Let’s use Manor Lords as a comparison. Whereas Manor Lords is set in medieval realism, serf management, and warfare, Anno 117 involves the politics and culture of ancient Rome. Both games excel at city-building, but the narrative options and culture system of Anno add another layer of depth to the game.
For example, Manor Lords features a gridless organic town growth system, whereas Anno 117 focuses on city planning. These are for players who have varying tastes, and Anno 117 is the game for players who enjoy a story with their strategy.
Main Features of Anno 117
- Cultural Influence: Choose Roman or Celtic culture, and unlock special gameplay mechanics.
- Narrative Choices: Play as a faithful governor or a rebel, decide what direction your story takes.
- Historical Accuracy: Build cities with authentic Roman architecture and rule trade routes.
- Strategic Depth: Balance economic development, military power, and citizens’ well-being.
Why It Matters
The game will prove to be a rich experience for both strategy enthusiasts and history buffs. The blending of city-building, resource management, and narrative gameplay provides it with a rich experience. The game ranks amongst the most highly anticipated releases after the release of Anno 1800, which saw five million players. With its complex graphics and advanced mechanisms, Anno 117 will prove popular amongst many enthusiasts.
Secondly, the educational value of the game should not be overlooked. Since it simulates Roman life, it is an eye into ancient culture and politics, and therefore an effective teaching aid.
With Anno 117: Pax Romana in development, hype surrounding this monumental game is building. With its combination of strategic gameplay, immersion into the world’s history, and richness of narrative, it breaks new ground in the city-building genre. For old Anno hands and new players to the series alike, the game offers the chance to create a Roman legacy that will last.
So don the governor’s toga and build an empire. Anno 117 and the world of Rome are yours to command, with hours of strategic and historic exploration waiting.