Civilization VI was just announced this past week and people are already losing their minds.
Considering Civ V is consistently one of the most popular games on Steam, and it’s a game into which I’ve personally invested over 2,000 hours, it’s easy to see why people are excited.
Why should you be excited about Civ VI? Here are 6 facts to get you pumped up about the latest instalment in one of the greatest turn-based strategy games of all time.

6) Cities Are Unstacked and Spread Across Terrain

Firaxis is calling its new cities “unstacked” versions of old cities. Now, cities will be spread out across your geographic location.
Your actual city might be placed on a mountain in the middle of your terrain, for example, while you might have a port district on the coast and a research institution in the mountains.


These cities will grow to be spread across the landscape, helping you take advantage of geographic terrain and creating a more varied landscape.

5) Dynamic Tech Trees Based on your Surroundings

At the same time as they’re adjusting the way we manage our geography, Firaxis is planning to link the tech tree more closely to the map and in-game situations. If you don’t have access to a quarry, for example, then you might have trouble researching masonry (you’ll research it more slowly). On the other hand, players with access to a coast early in the game will be able to speed up their naval research.
In other words, the tech tree is dynamic and will adjust to your geography.

4) Leaders Will Have Smarter Personalities

In Civ V, leaders had slightly different personalities. Gandhi liked to nuke people in the late game, for example, while Attila was a warmongering moron who loved to rush you early in the game.

However, beyond some basic differences, there wasn’t that much differentiating AI personalities from one another. Firaxis is working to change that in Civ VI by giving leaders unique personalities at every stage of the game – including big changes in how each leader handles diplomacy.
Some leaders will be happy to be your lifelong friends and cooperative partners, for example, while others will be standoffish for the entire game.
They’ve also announced that certain aspects of the AI leaders’ personalities will be randomized from game to game, so you won’t be able to predict everything about a particular leader.
Firaxis hasn’t released many details about this “dynamic diplomacy” system yet, but we’re already excited.

3) Better Multiplayer

Firaxis knows that Civ VI multiplayer games take years to complete, so they’re coming up with a better solution.
Instead of just playing normal Civilization maps against your friends, you’ll be able to cooperate and compete with your friends “in a variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session,” according to the official game announcement notes on Civilization.com.
So even if you don’t have 12 hours of free time, you’ll be able to enjoy Civ with your friends.

2) One Unit Per Tile System is Being Adjusted

Civ V fundamentally changed the Civilization series when it modified its system to only allow one unit per tile (well, one military unit and one civilian unit on each tile).

Civ VI isn’t going back to the Civ IV system where you could stack units on tiles. However, they are implementing a “Combined Arms” system where you can embed certain units with other units. You can embed an anti-tank unit with infantry, for example, or a warrior unit with settlers.
You can even combine similar units to form a “Corps” unit.
So it’s like the best parts of Civ IV and Civ V’s combat systems coming together into one fantastic solution. I’m all for it.

1) It’s Launching on October 21, 2016

The Civ VI release date is October 21, 2016. That may seem like a nondescript day, but it’s not: just before Civ VI was announced, DICE announced its World War I shooter, Battlefield 1, would be arriving on the same day. So yeah, clear your schedules.
What are you excited about in the upcoming Civilization VI? Let us know in the comments below!