Ubisoft’s troubled The Settlers reboot has resurfaced once again — with an updated name and release date. Dubbed “The Settlers: New Allies,” the medieval city-building strategy game is not set to arrive February 17, 2023 on PC. Moreover, a version for PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Amazon Luna, Nintendo Switch, and Nvidia GeForce Now is in development too — with full cross-play support. As The Settlers: New Allies PC pre-orders go live on the official website, creative director Christian Hagedorn has detailed what’s changed since the last delay. Fully reimagined from the ground up, The Settlers reboot was announced four years ago with a 2019 release date, before getting delayed several times.
In a developer’s update, Hagedorn kicked things off by promising an “improved pacing” for all game modes, by adding a new Rush Protection system to the multiplayer segment. For those unfamiliar with the game, The Settlers: New Allies has you pick between three medieval factions: the Elari, the Maru, and the Jorn, to partake in thrilling skirmish battles against other online players. There’s a solo mode as well, which sees players attempting to settle the Elari members after being forced to flee from their homelands. This is spread across 13 campaign missions, that play “a central role in the game.” Then there’s the Hardcore mode — formerly ‘Onslaught’ — which introduces custom modifiers to make the AI even more challenging. Think of it like a difficult PvE experience, which uses the same maps as the skirmish mode, now doubling to a total of 12.
The aforementioned, new Rush Protection system adds neutral camps of bandits, who protect the paths to “new resources and between starting areas.” Enemy groups/ factions who intend to seize those items from less experienced players will first have to pass a skill check, slaying down a camp of bandits — ensuring better protection in the earlier stages of the game. Players will also be able to invite friends for private PvP match-ups. The Settlers: New Allies has received upgrades to the UI and UX as well, adding a new save and load functionality (up to 10 slots) and customisable keybindings.
“Factions and faction differentiation is a topic we were constantly working on,” Hagedorn said. “We’ve split the faction units from the standard soldiers and each of them received very unique faction abilities, such as the combat jump of the Jorn, or the Maru with their hidden traps.” The Settlers: New Allies is subject to a reworked tools production system, which is now an easier process, but more prominently used throughout the economy. Players would be forced to plan out their settlements, with large buildings now requiring tools as construction costs. Additionally, players will finally be able to recover resources when demolishing buildings. “Lastly, one of the most requested features has been added to the game: The Forester!”, Hagedorn added. With it, one could now grow trees, and obtain logs wherever they desire.
Hagedorn also had one final update for The Settlers: New Allies — the franchise is expanding beyond PC for the first time ever. The game is undergoing additional development for Amazon Luna, Nintendo Switch, Nvidia GeForce Now, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X. All the platforms will have support for cross-progression and cross-play. Further details on the console launch will be revealed in time.
The much-delayed The Settlers: New Allies is out February 17, 2023 on PC. No release window for all other platforms.