2K Games today announced that Civilization: Beyond Earth, the next entry in the popular Civilization strategy game franchise, is coming to the Mac alongside releases Windows and Linux this fall.


Set in a science-fiction-themed future, the game will allow players to select one of eight different expedition sponsors that are looking to colonize alien planets in order to establish a new civilization. Similar to previous titles in the series, gameplay will center around building large armies and structures as well as researching advanced technologies. Civilization: Beyond Earth also features an enhanced quest system, unit customization, and support for up to 8 players in multiplayer.

As part of an expedition sent to find a home beyond Earth, you will write the next chapter for humanity as you lead your people into a new frontier and create a new civilization in space. Explore and colonize an alien planet, research new technologies, amass mighty armies, build incredible Wonders and shape the face of your new world. As you embark on your journey you must make critical decisions. From your choice of sponsor and the make-up of your colony, to the ultimate path you choose for your civilization, every decision opens up new possibilities.

The past two titles in the series, Civilization V and Civilization IV, were also released for Mac in 2010 and 2006, respectively. Those titles were developed with the help of Aspyr, which has published multiple major gaming titles for the Mac, including Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and SimCity 4. Currently, it is unknown whether Aspyr will help develop Civilization: Beyond Earth for Mac or if the series’ original developer, Firaxis Games will work on the port.

- Civilization IV can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, Aspyr’s GameAgent digital store, and Steam for $19.99.
- Civilization V can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, Aspyr’s GameAgent digital store, and Steam for $29.99.

Top Rated Comments

Cougarcat Avatar
146 months ago
Wait a second, alongside Linux???

That's a first...

I expect we'll be seeing this even more when SteamOS is officially launched.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cougarcat Avatar
146 months ago
I've been waiting for this for years. I've always loved Alpha Centauri more than Civ. This is essentially AC without the lore, as EA owns the rights to AC.

I hope Firaxis is doing the port themselves, as it would probably mean we'd get patches on all platforms released at the same time. Aspyr does a fine job, but I hate booting into Windows to play with PC friends when versions are out of sync.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brainkilla Avatar
146 months ago
Every single Feral interactive games uses Mac unique features, and a lot of Aspyr games do as well, including Civ5. The Mac App Store version uses in app purchases, and all versions use quicktime APIs for video playback and unique NS objective C calls, like calls to Grand Central Dispatch for better threading.
Well, game like this is probably developed upon a common OpenGL foundation, and then tweaked a bit for every platform. That's not necessarily bad, but it might not offer all bells and whistles Mac as a platform can offer; still, it will be most probably much better than any s*itty Cider ports other companies charge an arm and a leg for.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pakaku Avatar
146 months ago
I fear that it'll be some "general, run on all systems" code, not optimized for any platform, not using the features that are unique to the Mac.
Is there a list of games that do use Mac features? I mostly stick to Steam for my games...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
casperes1996 Avatar
146 months ago
It literally just got announced

Been searching around, but no luck at System Requirements for this. Did I miss them?

It just got announced, no system requirements have been announced yet, and they likely won't be for a while. Expect it to be a tad higher than Civ5, but not much. Runs on the same engine as Civ5.

----------

Well, game like this is probably developed upon a common OpenGL foundation, and then tweaked a bit for every platform. That's not necessarily bad, but it might not offer all bells and whistles Mac as a platform can offer; still, it will be most probably much better than any s*itty Cider ports other companies charge an arm and a leg for.

And Cider isn't even the worst. I bought The Witcher on Steam, the CD Project Red game, and I more than cleared the system requirements, but the game lagged like crazy. Turns out they ran it trough Wine, and never even bothered to check how ****** Wine stuff runs. Installed Windows on bootcamp just to make it worth it, and then I could run it all maxed out no problem... Yes, Wine is that terrible when it comes to games. (Still love you Wine)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arcite Avatar
146 months ago
I convene the Planetary Concil.
Agenda:
Elect Planetary Governor

Image (http://picload.org/image/locippr/smac.png)

Vote for me or else!
Please excuse me while I use my next turn to deploy planet busters to each capital city on Planet. :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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