Continuing its run of massive free titles, the Epic Games Store is giving away some turn-based strategy goodness in the form of Civilization VI for free on PC until May 28. If you download it now, it’s yours to keep forever.
For those not familiar with the 4X (a kind of abbreviation based on the X’s in “EXplore, EXpand, EXploit and EXterminate”) subgenre of strategy-based games, it essentially revolves around building an empire, developing it through technological advances and dominating enemies. This is pretty much what Civilization VI is all about.
The franchise was born in 1991 with the very first Civilization game originally released on PC. It was the brainchild of prolific Canadian-American programmer Sid Meier, who has created and worked on a huge number of games since 1982, including Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon, Wingman, Gunship and more. Spanning nine main games and six spinoff titles, Civilization is his largest and arguably most popular franchise to date.
Civilization VI has the familiarity of its predecessors but is also packed with new features and improvements that make it the most detailed and varied take on the series to date. Starting as a small tribe, you’ll need to advance and expand your civilization until you control the entire world. Of course, that’s easier said than done as you face enemy civilizations, tricky trade negotiations, natural disasters and more. In other words, you’ll need to be a damn good leader to come out on top.
If you’re keen to see more of how it works, you can check out the 2016 E3 walkthrough below.
If you feel like that narrator’s voice is a familiar one, you’d be right. That’s British actor Sean Bean, who you probably know as Ned Stark from the first season of Game of Thrones. He narrates the entire game, but don’t worry, no one’s trying to kill him this time around.
If you’re keen to see if you have what it takes to become a powerful leader, be sure to jump into the Epic Games Store before May 28 to claim your copy of Civilization VI free on PC. Once it’s in your library, it’s yours to keep forever. Good deal, no?
Now go and trample some weak nations and claim them as your own.
