It’s a strange time for strategy and 4X games. In one sense, the genre seems more alive than ever, courtesy of ongoing hits like Stellaris and Civilization 6, and much-anticipated up-and-comers such as Manor Lords, Bellwright, and Frostpunk 2. Demand is high – but so is supply. From the publisher behind Cities Skylines 2 and Crusader Kings, an ambitious new strategy effort has so far struggled to make waves, but its first major update and a daring roadmap could now be enough to turn its fortunes around.
Millennia is a 4X game with a smart gimmick. Instead of advancing through the usual historical ages, if you or your rivals meet certain, sometimes obscure criteria, it can trigger fictional, sometimes outlandish in-game epochs. Bad public hygiene will herald the Age of Plague. Pioneer technology too fast or too recklessly, and you can hit the Age of Robot Overlords. All the strategy staples are here but with some visionary twists and turns. Our Millennia review has more comprehensive analysis – we think there’s a good platform here – but reception elsewhere has so far been cool.
Of the almost 2,000 user reviews for Millennia on Steam, 67% are positive, leaving the strategy game with a ‘mixed’ rating. Similarly, from a launch-day peak of more than 8,000 players, Millennia, during the last 24 hours as of this writing, has attracted around 1,500 – the game launched less than a month ago. Nevertheless, the new Millennia roadmap and its first substantial update could mark a turning point.
In this initial update, developer C Prompt Games is making some major changes to key mechanics. If you have a vassal that you want to be rid of, you now have the option to destroy and remove them. You can now auto-skip combat animations during every encounter, rather than skipping through them manually, and a variety of domain powers and abilities have been tweaked, rebalanced, and overhauled. Likewise, resource costs and scaling have been addressed, and diplomatic actions have been changed so that successful negotiations grant bigger bonuses.
Two new Millennia updates will arrive in May, including a new map, two new nations, expanded game-start options, and customizable key bindings. Update 4 will land in June, followed by Update 5 and Update 6 in Q3 and Q4 2024 respectively. These will deliver more new nations and maps as well as full Steam Workshop mod support.
The Ancient Worlds and Atomic Ambitions DLC packs will also arrive in Q3 and Q4. C Prompt says however that the roadmap may change throughout the year. If you want to try Millennia for yourself, or take a look at all the detailed balance changes and tweaks in Update 1, head right here.
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