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Sid Meier's Starships goes further beyond Earth later this year

2K, Firaxis, and Sid Meier aren't done exploring the cosmos yet. A new turn-based strategy game set in space is set to debut later this year with Sid Meier's Starships.

Ozzie Mejia

January 19, 2015 11:30 AM

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While much of the gaming world appears to be slowing down in observance of Martin Luther King Day, there does appear to be one major announcement today. It appears that 2K and Firaxis have unveiled the next game from Civilization creator Sid Meier and, just as with 2014's Beyond Earth, it looks like the idea is to brave the cosmos. It'll be called Sid Meier's Starships.

Gamespot has the full story, noting that the premise involves players controlling a fleet of starships to explore the galaxy in a turn-based environment. Players will complete missions, protect planets from galactic ne'er-do-wells, and build a planetary fedeartion. Ships are fully customizable, while maps will feature dynamically generated combat.

"When designing Starships, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the next chapter in the story of Civilization: Beyond Earth," Meier told Gamespot. "What happens after we colonize our new home and eventually build starships to take to the stars? What has become of our long-lost brothers and sisters from the planet Earth? My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration."

If the premise of Starships sounds a little too similar to Civilization: Beyond Earth, that's because 2K is aiming to allow both games to communicate with one another in some fashion. However, Starships appears to be a full standalone game and does not look to require Beyond Earth to play. Look for more details to come soon. Sid Meier's Starships will release for PC, Mac, and iPad later this year.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?