Anno 1800, the latest in a series of construction and management video games, is getting an open beta. Anyone interested in Blue Byte’s latest game can try out the beta from April 12 to April 14 before it officially releases on April 16. The game was slated to release this month, but it got pushed back couple of months for some additional fine-tuning and polishing..
Revealed back at Gamescom 2017, Anno 1800 is the newest of Blue Byte’s games themed around exploring new worlds, building new societies, and managing supply chains. As well as making sure your people have what they want/need, you’ll need to deal with other players/AI that in a variety of ways. Previous entries in the Anno series have taken place in time periods such as the future and 1404 (titled Dawn of Discovery on Steam).
For those worried about some of the more unethical economic practices around in 1800, Ubisoft said in Q&A on their forums that they’ll be skirting around the topic of slavery almost entirely. It’s not too surprising to hear this given how Far Cry 5 turned out and The Division 2’s unwillingness to take side. If anything, Anno 1800 is more focused on closer-to-home issues for Victorian England and the Industrial Revolution, such as pollution and the plight of the working class.
There’s no sign-up necessary to partake in Anno 1800’s open beta. All you need to do is download the game from Uplay, Ubisoft’s video game launcher, and you can exploit the working class for fun and (hopefully) profit. You can sign up here to get more updates on the game’s progress, and read up on the game here.
Anno 1800’s open beta runs from April 12 to April 14, and the game officially releases April 16. It can be bought from Steam or the Ubisoft store for $60. For an additional $10, you can get the Deluxe edition, which includes the first post-launch DLC, an artbook & soundtrack, and some exclusive in-game decorations.