Key Highlights:
- Albion is a brand-new Celtic-inspired province offering unique gods, mechanics, and moral dilemmas.
- A free demo runs from September 2–16, letting players test both Latium and Albion before launch.
- Full release lands November 13 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, and Ubisoft+.
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Ubisoft Mainz has finally lifted the curtain on Albion, a new province in Anno 117: Pax Romana that pushes the city-builder franchise into fresh territory.
While Latium offers the familiar comfort of Rome’s heartland, Albion’s misty marshes and Celtic culture will force players into far tougher decisions, political, religious, and environmental. As someone who’s poured hundreds of hours into Anno 1800, what strikes me immediately is how Albion isn’t just a reskin of past regions. It’s a full systems shake-up designed to challenge how you think about growth and assimilation.
A Province Built on Choice
The defining feature of Albion is its duality. Do you fully Romanize the land, enforcing empire-wide culture and religion, or preserve Celtic traditions and build a Romano-Celtic identity? Neither path is “easy” – and that’s what excites me most.
The strategy game ties this choice into every layer of progression. In Latium, you’ll worship Mars, Venus, or Neptune for clear Roman buffs. In Albion, however, gods like Epona (speed and animal production) or Cernunnos (fertility and growth) fundamentally reshape your city’s capabilities.
Having played enough strategy titles where gods are little more than cosmetic flavour, this feels meaningful. The pantheon you choose will directly determine your strengths.
Marshes, Resistance, and Resource Strain
Albion’s design is rooted in constraint. Marshes dominate the landscape, offering limited building plots and resource bottlenecks. Draining them with Roman tech frees space but risks angering the locals, a clever mechanic that mirrors historical tensions.
During Ubisoft’s preview, one striking example was the choice of citizen upgrades. Your Tier 1 “Waders” can evolve into Celtic Smiths or Romano-Celtic Mercators. Smiths unlock production chains like cheese, cloaks, and beer, whereas Mercators provide knowledge and trade-focused goods such as brooches and mirrors. That fork forces you to think ahead: are you optimising for local sustainability or imperial trade dominance?
As a long-time Anno player, I can see how this will punish short-term thinking. In Anno 1800, expansion often felt like a matter of balancing efficiency. Here, Albion adds layers of cultural and ethical friction that could make every decision ripple across your empire.
The Demo and Beyond
For those eager to test the waters, Ubisoft is releasing a free demo from September 2–16. It’s not just a teaser, you’ll be able to try both Latium and Albion, experimenting with different paths and strategies. That’s rare for a city-builder demo, and I’d recommend playing through twice just to see how distinct the two provinces feel.
Anno 117: Pax Romana officially launches November 13 across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Amazon Luna. It will also be available via Ubisoft+ Premium for subscribers.
It’s clear that what Ubisoft Mainz has built is more than cosmetic variety. This is a region designed to test not just how efficiently you can build, but what kind of governor you want to be. For me, that’s where Anno 117 feels like it’s stepping into something bigger than any entry before it, and I’m excited for the future.