''Anno'' is a
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...
,
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series, conceived in 1998 by
Max Design
Max Design GesMBH was an Austrian video game developer based in Schladming, founded in 1991 by Wilfried Reiter Albert and Martin Lasser. The company is best known for creating the Anno (series), ''Anno'' series. The company was closed down in 2004 ...
. The series focuses on players establishing colonies on a series of small islands, conducting exploration of the region, diplomacy and trade with other civilisations and traders, while managing resources and engaging in combat both on land and sea. Most games in the series take place during Renaissance and Empire-building historical periods of Earth's history, with cultures, architecture and customs based upon real-life elements from these periods, though in-game civilisations tend to be neutral from exact nations.
Each game in the series is mainly a stand-alone title, featuring the same level of reoccurring gameplay mechanics, though with each installment amending existing gameplay mechanics and adding new features, with expansions packs adding in further content. Initial games mainly focused on two modes of gameplay, with players able to operate in single-player or multiplayer over LAN or online connections, while later titles added in a campaign mode of several missions, each featuring their own unique storyline - plots usually focus on players becoming involved in a major incident while beginning life as the ruler of a small island.
While primarily developed for
PC, the series has also included a variety of spin-off titles mainly for handheld consoles, which in turn feature more simplified game mechanics to those of the main series. Each title over the series' history has featured a variety of different developers and publishers, with the most recent entries being currently developed by
Blue Byte
Ubisoft Blue Byte GmbH (Blue Byte until 2017) is a German video game holding company owned by Ubisoft. It was founded in October 1988 by Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt as a Video game developer, developer and was best known for developing t ...
and published by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
. Most entries in the series have received average reviews from critics. The first title, ''
Anno 1602
''Anno 1602: Creation of a New World'', entitled ''1602 A.D.'' in North America, is a 1998 construction and management video game developed by Max Design and published by Sunflowers Interactive. Set in the early modern period, it requires the p ...
'', was Germany's best-selling computer game of all time as of December 2002, with sales of 2.5 million copies worldwide and 1.7 million in the German market.
Its
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
broke its sales-speed record, becoming Germany's fastest full-price computer game to reach 500,000 domestic sales.
It ultimately sold over one million units in German-speaking countries,
and, when combined with its predecessor, reached 4.5 million sales worldwide by October 2006.
Titles
Main series
Spin-offs
*''
Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery'' (2007)
:A video game for the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
, and spin-off of the series.
*''
Anno: Create A New World'' (2009)
:A video game for the Nintendo DS and the Wii, known in North America as ''Dawn of Discovery''.
*''
Anno Online'' (2013–2018)
:A free-to-play browser game (shut down in January 2018).
*''Anno: Build an Empire'' (2015)
:For Android and iOS platforms.
*''Anno 2205: Asteroid Miner'' (2015)
:For Android and iOS platforms.
See also
* ''
The Settlers
''The Settlers'' (german: Die Siedler) is a City-building game, city-building and real-time strategy video game series created by Volker Wertich. The The Settlers (1993 video game), original game was released on the Commodore Amiga in 1993, wit ...
'', a similar German real-time strategy and business simulation game
* ''
Unknown Horizons
''Unknown Horizons'' is a city-building game and real-time strategy game, inspired by the ''Anno'' series. It is released under the GNU General Public License (GPLv2) and is therefore free and open source software. Much of the artwork is open ...
'', a game inspired by the ''Anno'' series
* ''
The Patrician'', a similar German game series focused on ships and trade, but also featuring Anno-like strategy elements
References
External links
''Anno'' Ubisoft website(US)
Anno Union, ''Anno'' development blog''Anno''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anno
Video games developed in Germany
Ubisoft franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1998