Ara: History Untold News

Ara History Untold review - Microsoft's grand strategy game is a hit

The one-more-turn compulsion is alive and well. Ara: History Untold is the latest in a smattering of games offering alternatives to Sid Meier's classic formula, like Humankind or Old World. In concept, Ara does not reinvent the wheel. I haven't checked in with Civilization since its fifth entry, but I immediately felt at home with the game's basics. However, the multitude of small and significant differences create something in serious conversation with other grand strategy games. Ara: History Untold is not an outright improvement, neither is it a mere homage. It is worth engaging with on its own terms.

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Ara: History Untold - launching September 24th!

Hey, Ara fans!

We are on the eve of launching Ara: History Untold!

We've got a ton of new and exciting material being posted online about the game - but we wanted to call your attention to a few different things here in the final hours.

First, wanted to remind you that this is your last chance to take advantage of the pre-order bonuses and discount happening now - including the gilded leader skin collection, as they will no longer be available once the game launches at 8AM PDT on Tuesday, September 24th.

We've begun releasing our short game guide videos discussing and explaining some of the game's features. We're also continuing to post additional videos in our Encarta series, which explores some of the real life history behind the leaders in the game, along with detailed strategy tips and info about how their abilities impact the game.

And finally, we've also now released parts 1 and 2 of our final pre-launch Dev Q&A with Xbox Game Studios Executive Producer Matt Turnbull answering as many launch questions as possible that have popped up in the various places online where folks gather to discuss the game.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Speaking of places where folks are gathering - here is just a short list of some of the places you can find folks to talk to about the game:

The Steam Discussion Forums are always a great place to meet and talk with other players, as well as hear from the devs
We now have an official Discord Server - check the forums for more details
The game's official sub-reddit has been growing as more folks learn about the game, check us out on Reddit at /r/arahistoryuntold
On our Ara: History Untold website, our forums are now available - a great place to share screenshots, give feedback on the game, and report any issues you run into

We've also been posting a lot more content from the game, you can find us on your social media platform of choice - just search for Ara History Untold.

And don't forget to head over to our official YouTube channel (@arahistoryuntold) for all the latest videos.

Thank you all so much for being excited about the game, we can't wait for you to get your hands on it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2021880/Ara_History_Untold/

Ara History Untold is a 4X game that's "optimistic about history"

While Civilization 7's 2025 launch is some way off, there's plenty of new 4X goodness right on our doorstep. Ara: History Untold, the historical strategy game from Oxide Games and Xbox Game Studios, is just around the corner, and it isn't afraid to step outside the now-familiar standards of the genre established by its rivals. As its launch nears, I sat down with historian and narrative designer Grace Rojas and executive producer Matt Turnbull from Xbox to talk about Ara's deep-rooted love for history and their favorite leaders to play.

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Xbox Game Pass' second wave of titles for September are a good time for egomaniacs who like sitting about for ages and building a thing, less good for Xbox players

Xbox has announced another batch of Game Pass arrivals - the titles which'll be hitting the service during the second half of September - and this time the main people who'll be happy are those who like ordering virtual folks about and building stuff.

Ara: History Untold Dev Q&A Episode 5

Hey, Ara fans!

Last week, we released an all-new Dev Q&A video featuring our Director of Production, Satch Puri! As we approach launch later this month, we dove into your burning questions and comments.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

One of the hot topics was the Nation Culling system. Satch clarified that Nation Culling at the end of an Act is an optional feature when starting a new game. He explained, “We have a setting that allows human nations to not be culled at Act Transitions. This means that if you're not doing so well when Act Transition happens, you’ll be spared and can still progress into Acts 2 and 3.” AI Nations will still be culled as it helps with balancing resources and territories as the game progresses. Satch hinted that they might consider expanding this feature to AI players post-launch.

In addition to this, Satch shared some exciting updates about the multiplayer experience, revealing that players who are defeated in-game will be able to return as one of the AI nations still standing. This feature aims to keep everyone engaged, ensuring no one is left sitting on the sidelines.

We also addressed questions around era progression! Satch explained that instead of a traditional tech tree, Ara: History Untold utilizes a deck system for technology. This allows players the flexibility to either unlock all available technologies within each era or leap ahead to the next one, possibly gaining a crucial advantage before their rivals.

We covered even more questions in the full video, so don't miss out—head over to our YouTube channel for all the latest insights and details. Pre-order Ara: History Untold before it releases on 9/24/24, and let us know what questions you want answered in the next video!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2021880/Ara_History_Untold/