Civilization VI launches October 2016 with a cartoony new art style

2K Games and Firaxis have just announced Civilization VI, the latest entry in the long-running 4X strategy franchise. There's only a small handful of info for now, but the most important piece is the release date: October 21, 2016, on PC.

One of the biggest changes is the art style, which is definitely more "cartoony" than Civ V or Beyond Earth. The land, buildings, and units are drawn in bright, primary colors. The terrain textures almost look like a painting with brush strokes as opposed to the realistic style depicted in Civ V. Longtime Civ fans might be having traumatic flashbacks to the console-only Civilization Revolution, but Civ VI looks like it will still keep the deep and addictive gameplay the series is known for.

On the gameplay side of things, Civ VI seems to keep Civ V's hexagonal tile layout. Players will still be warring over territories displayed via big, bright division lines that cut through the landscape. There will be some gameplay changes, though. The "One unit per tile" rule has been tweaked, with the press release saying that "support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry or a warrior with settlers." Similar units can also be combined together to form "Corps" units.

Cities will now "physically expand across the map," taking up multiple tiles. Players will be "leading a civilization from the Stone Age to the Information Age," but researching technology seems like it will still be a more active process. The press release encourages players to "unlock boosts" in research by exploring the map and developing the environment. It sounds like Firaxis is trying to entice new players to the series, too, with a new tutorial system that will explain all the base concepts.

The rest of the press release sounds like... well... Civilization. There is also an announcement trailer, but it contains zero information or gameplay footage. You do get some triumphant music, flashes of artwork, and a speech from a voice actor we're pretty sure is Sean Bean.

The game is already up for preorder on Steam. It's $59.99 for the regular version or $79.99 for the "Digital Deluxe" version, which includes the 25th Anniversary Digital Soundtrack and access to four post-launch DLC packs. You can also snag 40 percent off a Steam Controller when you order the game.

Read our in-depth hands-on preview of Civilization 6.