Anno 1800
City-building and strategy set during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution.
Anno 1800 is a city-building real-time strategy video game developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte and published by Ubisoft, launched on April 16, 2019. It is the seventh game in the Anno series and returns to a historical setting during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, following the futuristic titles Anno 2070 and Anno 2205. The game reintroduces traditional city-building and ocean combat mechanics while adding new features such as tourism, blueprinting, and the effects of industrialization on island inhabitants.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Anno 1800
- Developer
- Ubisoft Blue Byte
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Director
- Dirk Riegert
- Producer
- Christoph Knauz · Nadin Bernstorff
- Designer
- Jan Dungel · Volker Sassen
- Programmer
- Kevin Zellner · Thomas Stein
- Artist
- Sebastian Steinberg
- Writer
- Matt Cook
- Composer
- Dynamedion
- Series
- Anno
- Platforms
- Windows · PlayStation 5 · Xbox Series X/S
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Anno 1800 takes place in the 19th century at the dawn of the Industrial Age. The core gameplay occurs in the Old World, where the needs of citizens, workers, and artisans drive production and supply chains. A parallel New World city produces goods desired by Old World laborers, requiring established trade routes. The game features a blueprint mode that allows players to plan their city with silhouetted buildings without spending resources immediately, enabling later construction with a single click once resources are gathered. The attractiveness rating system grapples with industrialization's impact: factories lower the city's attractiveness and affect surrounding areas, while tourists contribute income but dislike pollution, local unrest, and noisy or smelly industry.
Reader's Guide
Anno 1800 became the fastest-selling Anno game, selling four times more copies than Anno 2205 during its first week of release. The game received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic, with 95% of 63 critic reviews recommending it on OpenCritic. Its downloadable content was released across four seasons from 2019 to 2022, each adding three DLC packs. Season 1 included Sunken Treasure, Botanica, and The Passage. Season 2 introduced Seat of Power, Bright Harvest, and Land of Lions. Season 3 added Docklands, Tourist Season, and The High Life. Season 4 brought Seeds of Change, Empire of the Skies, and New World Rising, which focused more on the New World and each included a custom scenario. The game was originally available for pre-purchase on Steam but was pulled at launch, then reinstated on Steam in December 2022. A console version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S was released on March 16, 2023.
Did You Know?
- Anno 1800 is the seventh game in the Anno series and returns to a historical setting after the futuristic Anno 2070 and Anno 2205.
- The blueprint mode allows players to place silhouetted buildings without spending resources, enabling later construction with one click.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Anno 1800?
Anno 1800 is a city-building real-time strategy title set against the backdrop of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. Developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte and released by Ubisoft in April 2019, it serves as the seventh entry in the long-running Anno franchise.
How does Anno 1800 differ from its predecessors like Anno 2070 and Anno 2205?
After those two futuristic installments, Anno 1800 brings the series back to a historical era and revives classic ocean combat alongside traditional island settlement building. It also introduces fresh systems such as tourism management, player-to-player blueprint sharing, and mechanics that let industrialization visibly reshape the lives of your colonists.
What are the core gameplay pillars of Anno 1800?
Players manage supply chains, build and expand island settlements, and engage in naval battles to secure trade routes. The game layers on a tourism economy where visitors from other islands generate income, and a blueprint system that lets you replicate or share complex building layouts.
On which platforms can I play Anno 1800?
The PC version launched in 2019 and is distributed through Steam, the Epic Games Store, Origin, and Ubisoft Connect. A console edition for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S followed in March 2023.
Why is Anno 1800 considered a significant entry in the 2010s city-builder landscape?
It marked Ubisoft Blue Byte's return to the franchise's historical roots after two sci-fi titles, re-establishing the series' identity for a new generation of players. Its blend of deep economic management, naval strategy, and cooperative multiplayer set a new benchmark for the city-building subgenre in the latter half of the decade.
More in Real-Time Strategy Games of the 2010s 1-22
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