Publisher 2K and Firaxis Games have formally revealed Sid Meier’s Starships, an adventure-driven strategy title that takes place in the same universe as last year’s Beyond Earth.
It’s coming sooner than expected, too, with the developer confirming plans to release the space-set adveture in the early stages of 2015 across PC, Mac and iPad. Much like Beyond Earth, players will have the ability to build and command a fleet of starships, with the core story orbiting around the far-flung population of planet Earth, who reach out to the new civilization via a distress call.
In tandem with the announcement, Meier himself touched upon the inspirations behind the title, and how he hopes Starships can iterate on a lot of the foundations that were laid in last year’s space sim.
“When designing Starships, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the next chapter in the story of Civilization: Beyond Earth,” Meier said. “What happens after we colonize our new home and eventually build starships to take to the stars? What has become of our long-lost brothers and sisters from the planet Earth?
“My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration.”
Placing a heavy emphasis on exploration, Starships will reward players who venture into the unknown, with the key, overriding objective being to build and sustain a federation that can seize control of its galactic neighbourhood. Interestingly, the studio also hinted that those who own Beyond Earth will be able to “cross-connect” the two RTS titles, though details of this pairing are scarce on the ground at this early stage.
Firaxis Games didn’t specify a release date for Starships at this time, though we’ll be sure to keep you updated on the development of the project as we learn more. For now, you can check out some the stellar screenshots via the gallery below.
