Ara: History Untold Gameplay Shows Off Strategy In A Living World

Strategy fans received a new in-depth look at Ara: History Untold, an upcoming 4X turn-based strategy game from developer Oxide Games that is published by Xbox Game Studios. New details about the ambitious civilization-builder Ara: History Untold were revealed as part Xbox's 2024 Developer Direct, where it was also confirmed that it is coming to PC via Steam and PC Game Pass in Fall 2024.

One of the main differences between Ara: History Untold and other grand strategy games is the Living World. It is a procedurally generated map that reflects the upgrades and changes being made by players, showing progress through visual changes and not just numbers. Ara: History Untold also features a crafting system, which requires players to gather resources and create necessary items. For example, building certain military units requires crafting the correct weapons first.

While Ara: History Untold is still a turn-based strategy game, instead of players each taking their turn one at a time, everyone will take their turns at the same time. This allows players to not only focus more on their own strategy, but also allows them to be more reactive to what other players are doing.

First announced in 2022 as part of Xbox's summer game showcase, the grand strategy title is coming from a team of veteran ex-Firaxis developers who previously worked on titles like Civilization 5. Information about the game has been relatively light following its original announcement, but Ara: History Untold received its first gameplay trailer at last year's Gamescom Opening Night Live show.

According to the game's Steam page, players will be able to take on the role of influential leaders throughout history, like Egypt's Queen Nefertiti or the USA's George Washington, and reshape the world as we know it by building nations from the ground up. Players will be able to experience "true simultaneous turns," according to the listing, with each nation's turns resolving at the same time, "leading to suspense, anticipation, unique outcomes, and surprising twists on the classic turn-based formula." Ara: History Untold additionally promises "no pre-set paths to victory," giving players more control over their nations and their goal of becoming "the greatest rulers ever known."

Ara: History Untold will be released on PC via Steam and PC Game Pass in Fall 2024.