If last year's Anno 1800 made you want to revisit the wider city-building series, good news: Ubisoft is updating and optimizing four games for an Anno History Collection that's launching June 25, 2020.
The titles in question are Anno 1602, Anno 1503, Anno 1701, and Anno 1404, along with their expansions: New Islands, New Adventure; Treasures, Monsters & Pirates; The Sunken Dragon; and Venice.
What kind of work went into updating them for 2020? There's a new sheen with resolutions "up to 4K," online matchmaking (including Anno 1503), borderless window support, multi-screen support, bonus content like soundtracks, and the big one: save file compatibility with the original versions of the games.
The Anno History Collection is being pitched as a bundle (it'll cost $40 on the Ubisoft Store), but Ubisoft says the games will also be sold individually, which is perfect for pickier fans or more casual players.
Anno 1800 was the "fastest-selling Anno game to date," so I can see why Ubisoft Mainz would want to freshen up the older entries after the trade-route-obsessed audience grew considerably. I'm not sure I'll want to revisit the History Editions – if anything, I'll get back into 1800 – but I appreciate the option.
Anno is one of those great long-running series that just doesn't come up in conversations enough.
