We’ve heard whispers about 2K’s Civilization Online for the past few years. Originally, the game was thought to be for Asian markets only. However, a new publicity push on Western gaming sites suggests that this strategy MMO is planned for a worldwide release. We await official confirmation of release locations and dates.
What does a Civilization MMO look like? For starters, it will be in real time instead of turn-based like the existing Civilization series. Rather than control an entire civilization, players will create a citizen of a single civilization. There will be four nations to choose from at launch, and individual players can help their chosen side advance through six major historical periods through crafting, discovery, combat, diplomacy, etc. Players will work on various career paths, and some players will be able to achieve leadership positions within their civilization.
Unlike most existing MMOs, Civilization Online won’t have a fixed world. Civilizations will have access to a small area of the world at the start, but new areas will become available each week as the nations grow. The game will be a sandbox, with most structures being player made. The game will operate over “sessions” that have a definite end point in which one of the civilizations wins the game, and presumably, everything then begins anew. Just as in the regular Civilization , an MMO nation can win in multiple ways, such as reaching the space age or dominating other civilizations in combat.
Sources: Massively , mmorpg.com