Publisher 2K Games and developer Firaxis Games announced that Civilization Revolution 2, the sequel to 2008’s successful mobile entry in the long-running Civilization franchise of turn-based strategy games. The game is currently planned to release on current generation iOS devices on July 2, 2014 with an Android release following at an as of yet undetermined amount of time later. While the original Civiliation Revolution was released on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS neither Firaxis nor 2K Games has made mention of a console release for the upcoming sequel.
In Civilization Revolution, players take control of a lone settler i from a major historic civilization in the year 4000 BC and slowly develop their settlement into a global empire over a number of turns, each of which represents several years of time. Players can achieve victory over competing civilizations through military conquest, cultural expansion, economic domination, or immense technological development. The original Civilization Revolution featured sixteen playable civilizations, each with a unique historic leader, a number of special perks, and differing methods of military, economic, and scientific development. The sequel plans to introduce some newcomers to the fray, such as Great Britian under the leadership of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln’s Civil War era America. In addition to new civilizations, Revolution 2 also plans to add a number of new units and technologies to the modern era of gameplay such as jet aircraft, information technology, and modern medicine. The upcoming title will also add a scenario mode to the game, allowing players to reenact major historic conflicts instead of playing a full campaign.
Civilization Revolution 2 promises to deliver a more polished experience for mobile users than its predecessor, the iOS and Windows Phone versions of which drew significant criticism for utilizing poorly adapted console interfaces and controls. The sequel also improves dramatically on the graphics of the first title’s mobile versions, bringing the mobile Civilization games in line with their fully 3D PC and console counterparts. While the first game included a multiplayer mode, it was often criticized as being slow and unresponsive even when players were restricted to a limited amount of time per turn. There has been no word on whether or not multiplayer mode will make a return in Civilization Revolution 2 or about what improvements might be made to it if it does.
Civilization Revolution 2 is planned to launch on July 2, 2014 for iOS devices. The original game is currently available for $2.99 on the iOS App Store.