Anno, early on also known as A.D., is a real-time strategy, economic simulation video game series, conceived in 1998 by Max Design. The series focuses on players establishing colonies on a series of small islands, conducting an exploration of the region, diplomacy, and trade with other civilizations 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 civilizations 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 each installment amends existing gameplay mechanics and adds new features, with expansion packs adding 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 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 Ubisoft Blue Byte and published by Ubisoft. Most entries in the series have received average reviews from critics. The first title, Anno 1602, 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 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 Title Year Developer Expansions Notes Anno 1602 1998 Max Design New Islands, New Adventures (1998) Also marketed as 1602 A.D. Anno 1503 2002 Max Design Treasures, Monsters and Pirates (2004) Also marketed as 1503 A.D.: The New World Anno 1701 2006 Related Designs The Sunken Dragon (2007) Also marketed as 1701 A.D. Anno 1404 2009 Related Designs, Ubisoft Blue Byte Venice (2010) Also marketed as Dawn of Discovery Anno 2070 2011 Related Designs, Ubisoft Blue Byte Deep Ocean (2012) Anno 2205 2015 Ubisoft Blue Byte Tundra (2016) Orbit (2016) Frontiers (2016) Anno 1800 2019 Ubisoft Blue Byte Sunken Treasures (2019)Botanica (2019) The Passage (2019) Seat of Power (2020) Bright Harvest (2020)Land of Lions (2020)Docklands (2021)Tourist Season (2021)The High Life (2021)Seeds of Change (2022)Empire of the Skies (2022)New World Rising (2022) First game in the main series to release on consoles. Anno 117 2025 Ubisoft Mainz Prophecies of Ash (2026) The Hippodrome (2026)Also marketed as Anno 117: Pax Romana
Spin-offs Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery (2007) A video game for the Nintendo DS, 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) A standalone mobile game for Android and iOS platforms (has since been shut down). Anno 2205: Asteroid Miner (2015) A mobile companion app for Android and iOS platforms (shut down in October 2018).
See also The Settlers, a similar German real-time strategy and business simulation game Unknown Horizons, 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