Amplitude is expanding cultural development and allowing a changing environment to directly influence your civilization.
Amplitude Studios is taking its Civilization rival to the next level. During Gamescom Opening Night Live, the French studio announced Humankind 2. The sequel to the 4X strategy game released in 2021 is set to launch in 2027 and will offer more than just additional cultures and prettier maps. Among the biggest new features is a climate system that can alter the game world over the course of centuries.
While the first trailer is still holding back on concrete gameplay, Amplitude has since revealed some details. According to the studio, Humankind 2 will feature new progression systems, a revamped user interface, improved graphics, and numerous adjustments to the actual gameplay. The studio also plans to incorporate the experiences and feedback it has gathered since the release of the first game.
Cultures are set to build upon one another more strongly
The core concept of the predecessor remains the same: You guide your civilization from its first settlements into the modern era, founding cities, researching technologies, trading with other empires, and going to war when necessary. The ability to switch between different historical cultures also returns, but this time it’s designed to foster the development of a cohesive civilization across multiple eras.
In each new era, you can take on another culture. New features include more extensive development trees that allow you to unlock exclusive cultural traits. The influences of earlier cultures will be preserved and integrated with later decisions. Instead of simply adopting a new set of bonuses with each era change, Amplitude aims to make the development of your empire more traceable over the centuries.
You still don’t have to stick to historical accuracy. You can follow the actual development of a culture or deliberately take a different path. The Saqqaq, Etruscans, and Scythians, among others, are set to add more variety.
The climate plays a role this time
The environment will also have a much greater impact on your planning than in the previous game. Climate change can alter entire biomes over the course of a game. Cities that are well-situated in one era may face new problems later on as a result. At the same time, important resources may disappear or gain significance.
Amplitude aims to present you with decisions whose consequences won’t become apparent until generations later. Short-term growth can backfire in the long run, while investments in adapting your cities and economy may be costly at first but yield benefits later on. However, it’s still too early to assess just how dynamic and far-reaching these changes will actually be.
Amplitude also wants to involve the community in the development of Humankind 2 early on. Through theAmplifiers programyou can already register to participate in future tests and feedback sessions. However, there is no specific release date yet. The only thing that’s certain is that Humankind 2 is scheduled to be released sometime in 2027.
