Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Expansion Announced; Coming in February

Today publisher 2K Games and developer Firaxis announced the second expansion for Civilization VI, titled “Gathering Storm.”

First of all, the game will receive new natural disasters, including floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes. That being said, it isn’t all bad news, as there are beneficial effects like fertile floodplains and powerful natural wonders.

The weather will also hit players hard with droughts and storms, while features like rivers, volcanos, mountain ranges, and deserts will be named after the civilization that discovers them.

You will be able to defend yourself and even harness the power of nature with new districts like dams, canals, and tunnels.  There is even global warming, so you’ll have to juggle the balance between unrestricted prosperity and climate preservation.

For the pacifists among us, a new diplomatic victory will be added, allowing players to become world leaders through gaining control of the World Congress and winning disaster relief competitions or Nobel Peace Prizes.

On top of that, a new era of branching future techs and civics will make the endgame more interesting for those who love those long, long “one more turn” struggles.

Incidentally, did I mention new civilizations and leaders? Of course, there will be plenty of those. Below you can read a full feature list:

• ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: Volcanoes, storms (blizzards, sand storms, tornados, hurricanes), climate change, floods, and droughts.
• POWER AND CONSUMABLE RESOURCES: Strategic resources play an additional role in Gathering Storm. These resources are now consumed in power plants to generate electricity for your cities. Initially you’ll be powering your most advanced buildings by burning carbon-based resources like Coal and Oil, but renewable energy sources also unlock as you progress to current-day technologies. Your choices about resource usage will directly affect the world’s temperature and can cause melting ice caps and rising sea levels.
• ENGINEERING PROJECTS: Shape the world around your empire to overcome unfavorable land conditions by making improvements like canals, dams, tunnels and railroads. When settling cities, consider the flood risk to coastal lowland areas, but keep in mind that in the late-game, new technologies like Flood Barriers can be used to protect these tiles.
• WORLD CONGRESS: Make your voice heard among the other leaders of the world. Earn Diplomatic Favor through Alliances, influencing city-states, competing in World Games, and more. Use Diplomatic Favor to extract promises from other leaders, vote on Resolutions, call a Special Session to address an emergency, and increase the weight of your votes in your quest to achieve the new Diplomatic Victory.
• 21^st CENTURY TECHNOLOGIES & CIVICS:  A new era has been added to the Technology and Civics trees. Combat new environmental effects with speculative ideas such as relocating your population out to seasteads and developing technologies to recapture carbon emissions.
• NEW LEADERS AND CIVS:  Nine new leaders from eight new civilizations are introduced. Each brings unique bonuses and gameplay, as well as a total of nine unique units, four unique buildings, three unique improvements, two unique districts and one unique governor.
• NEW SCENARIOS:
  • The Black Death: The Black Death ravaged Europe and western Asia in the mid-14^thcentury, killing a greater share of the population than any other event in world history. The pandemic killed millions, ruined economies, upended political dynasties and transformed the face of the Western world. Your task is to lead your nation through the calamity: keep your population alive, your economy strong, and your faith unshaken amidst a world of terror and desperation.
  • War Machine: At the outset of WWI, the German Imperial Army had a daring plan: invade neutral Belgium and then rush the French heartland before they could mobilize to resist. If successful, the German forces would capture Paris within a month and end their resistance forever. In counter, the French command prepared Plan 17, an all-out onslaught designed to meet and stop a German offensive. When war was declared, both armies swung into motion and set up one of the most incredible and shocking military campaigns in world history. In this scenario, players take the side of one of these two great powers at this same precipice. As Germany, your task is to capture Paris. As France, your task is to prevent its capture. The clock is ticking, and the enemy is moving. Advance!

• MORE NEW CONTENT: Seven new world wonders, seven natural wonders, 18 new units, 15 new improvements, 9 new buildings, 5 new districts, 2 new city sets, 9 new techs and 10 new civics have been added.
• IMPROVED GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS: The Espionage system has been enhanced with new options, the Culture and Science Victories have been updated, new Historic Moments have been added, and additional improvements have been made to other existing systems.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm will release on February 14th, 2019 for PC. At the moment a version for Switch has not been announced.