The Anno History Collection Announced, out June 25th

dex3108 · May 26, 2020

Hey Anno community,

We are very happy to share the Anno History Collection announcement with all of you today. As part of this collection, we are giving the first four Anno games (i.e. 1602, 1503, 1701, 1404) some updates with which they can make better use of the possibilities of modern PCs without changing the gameplay they have loved for many years. The biggest improvements we make in all four games include:

All games have been ported to 64-bit to improve performance and stability (so say goodbye to Anno 1404's memory issues)

Support for new resolutions up to 4k, which will make your empires look better than ever

Improved multiplayer features like Quickmatch and Desync-Recovery (based on the implementation in Anno 1800). And yes ... THE ANNO 1503 MULTIPLAYER IS FINALLY OFFICIAL!

Full compatibility for your old single player and multiplayer saves, so start looking for the old savegames

Of course, all extensions and any other official content that has been published over the years are included

The question is when and where can you get these new versions of the games?

Anno History Collection - € 39.99

This collection contains the History Editions of Anno 1602, Anno 1503, Anno 1701 and Anno 1404 as well as their respective extensions, and will be available exclusively on Uplay at a special price of € 39.99. For fans of series, there are also some bonuses for Anno 1800: an ornament with a statue that commemorates all 4 classics, and a total of five logos (one each inspired by each of the four games, and another that is only available in this collection )

The celebratory Anno 1800 ornament is exclusively available when you buy the collection on .

Anno 1602 History Edition - € 9.99

Includes the improved version of Anno 1602 and the "New Islands, New Adventures" expansion, as well as a logo inspired by Anno 1602 that you can use in Anno 1800. Available on Uplay.

Anno 1503 History Edition - € 9.99

Includes the improved version of Anno 1503 and the "Treasures, Monsters and Pirates" expansion, as well as a logo inspired by Anno 1503 that you can use in Anno 1800. Available on Uplay.

After almost 18 years, the dream of 1503 multiplayer comes true

Anno 1701 History Edition - € 9.99

Includes the improved version of Anno 1701 and the "The Curse of the Dragon" expansion, as well as a logo inspired by Anno 1701 that you can use in Anno 1800. Available in the Epic Games Store and on Uplay.

With 1701, the series made the leap into the third dimension

Anno 1404 History Edition - € 14.99

Includes the improved version of Anno 1404 and the "Venice" extension, as well as a logo inspired by Anno 1404 that you can use in Anno 1800. Available in the Epic Games Store as well as on Steam and Uplay.

A real construction classic: the beloved Anno 1404

And the best? You won't even have to wait very long, because the Anno History Collection and the four individual games will appear in one month on June 25! Pre-ordering on Uplay is already possible (the games will then be available for publication on the other platforms mentioned above). In order to shorten the time until then, we will have separate blogs in the next few weeks in which we will present each of the four games with all of its individual improvements (the list above only lists the highlights!) Here at Anno Union. So check back often and take special care of yourself and your health!

See you soon,

The Anno team

Announcing the Anno History Collection

Today we are very excited to share the announcement of the upcoming Anno History Collection with you all.

www.anno-union.com

That is mess with platform releases honestly.

Firebricks · May 26, 2020

What a mess, but if I can get Anno 1404 on Steam with all the Steam stuff attached, I'll be pleased.

renegade_sylens · May 26, 2020

It's only coming to UPlay, is that right? No Steam release?

TeenageFBI · May 26, 2020

Oh wow, 4K support means they probably added UI scaling. The lack of UI scaling made it very difficult to play a few of the older games at 1440p and above!

..would be nice to have a free patch though.

GTAce · May 26, 2020

All games have been ported to 64-bit to improve performance and stability (so say goodbye to Anno 1404's memory issues)

Support for new resolutions up to 4k, which will make your empires look better than ever

Improved multiplayer features like Quickmatch and Desync-Recovery (based on the implementation in Anno 1800). And yes ... THE ANNO 1503 MULTIPLAYER IS FINALLY OFFICIAL!

Full compatibility for your old single player and multiplayer saves, so start looking for the old savegames

Of course, all extensions and any other official content that has been published over the years are included

That should be a free update for the individual games.

SuikerBrood · May 26, 2020

I find this all very confusing. Just do it like MCC on Steam.. if you own some copies, but miss others, you get a discount on the total collection. This feels weird.

Rodrigues solitaire · May 26, 2020

Remember buying Anno 1404 (the GOAT) for a couple quid in a sale on Steam, never played it lol. I'll see if I can get it refunded.

TeenageFBI · May 26, 2020

GTAce said:
That should be a free update for the individual games.

I can think of a few companies that would handle it like that. Oh well, this is better than nothing.

Tagyhag · May 26, 2020

Neat, always wanted to play the series so this might be the best place to jump in.

Firebricks · May 26, 2020

All games have been ported to 64-bit to improve performance and stability (so say goodbye to Anno 1404's memory issues)

This is the big news here. Anno 1404 would always always always crash on me a few hours into every game because of memory issues. Ok I'll buy this.

GTAce · May 26, 2020

Tagyhag said:
Neat, always wanted to play the series so this might be the best place to jump in.

You just need 1404 from the old ones imho. 1800 is my personal favourite.

FliX · May 26, 2020

After 1800 I am not sure I could go back to the old ones. 1800 is just soo good.

strudelkuchen · May 26, 2020

1602 is the best, but I'm biased.

Exist 2 Inspire · May 26, 2020

I still love going back to 1602, such a jolly game.

Tagyhag · May 26, 2020

GTAce said:
You just need 1404 from the old ones imho. 1800 is my personal favourite.

Are the others ones not good or just redundant?

Runner · May 26, 2020

waiting for them to finally release anno 0009 and anno 9000

SteveWinwood · May 26, 2020

who on earth is in charge of determining these platform releases?

it's like they don't want people to play their own games or have the company make money

they should check for corporate espionage

Uzzy · May 26, 2020

Surprised Ubi don't have a chart of their own already. What a bizarre release plan.

medyej · May 26, 2020

This is great. Between this and the Settlers collection I love that Ubi is attentive to their classic strategy games.

Samiya · May 26, 2020

That's crazy how great looking all of these are. Incredible work, really!

Transistor · May 26, 2020

Those platform releases are making my head hurt. Like, if it were different for consoles vs PC, I could understand. But these are literally just different storefronts on the same platform.

Edge · May 26, 2020

Uplay only games are still a thing? Yikes.

inner-G · May 26, 2020

ANNO 1404 is the only one I'd really want, but I already have the original version which still looks and runs great, and I also don't want to reward anyone working with EGS, so I'll just not buy any of these.

Com_Raven · May 26, 2020

SuikerBrood said:
I find this all very confusing. Just do it like MCC on Steam.. if you own some copies, but miss others, you get a discount on the total collection. This feels weird.

These new releases will replace the classic versions of the games where they are available. So on Uplay, they will replace all of the old games. As only 1404 is available on Steam right now, only 1404 History Edition will be on Steam.

smocaine · May 26, 2020

Funny. I've been playing this recently with friends, we have to use some virtual-LAN program to play multiplayer because it's broken. My copy is on GOG, and I see no mention of it, which sucks. Seems weird you have to pay for this.

SuikerBrood · May 26, 2020

Com_Raven said:
These new releases will replace the classic versions of the games where they are available. So on Uplay, they will replace all of the old games. As only 1404 is available on Steam right now, only 1404 History Edition will be on Steam.

Is there cross-play between older and newer versions? With a classic mode or something similar?

Wonder what happens when I have the older version, and they get replaced in the store with the newer ones. But a friend wants to play. Is there a way to play together?

Chanser · May 26, 2020

Let me guess, owners of 1404 on steam won't get a free upgrade?

Com_Raven · May 26, 2020

GTAce said:
That should be a free update for the individual games.

Not gonna tell you that your opinion is wrong, but I would like to point that all of these have taken months of work, and are not what I usually expect in the scope of a patch (especially when it comes to 22 year old games):

- ported them all to 64 bit (also worth pointing out that the two oldest games are from a completely different developer, and took some serious source code archaeology)
- replaced the multiplayer middle-ware, which in some cases had been dead for years (Gamespy) to work via Uplay, with modern features like Desync Recovery and Quickmatch
- in the case of 1503, got the multiplayer properly and stable running for the first time ever
- added some new quality of life features for all them

SuikerBrood said:
Is there cross-play between older and newer versions? With a classic mode or something similar?

That is not possible, as all new multiplayer runs via Uplay (setup similar to Anno 1800), while the older games used services like Gamespy, and haven't had working online for years.

GTAce · May 27, 2020

Com_Raven said:
Not gonna tell you that your opinion is wrong, but I would like to point that all of these have taken months of work, and are not what I usually expect in the scope of a patch (especially when it comes to 22 year old games):

- ported them all to 64 bit (also worth pointing out that the two oldest games are from a completely different developer, and took some serious source code archaeology)
- replaced the multiplayer middle-ware, which in some cases had been dead for years (Gamespy) to work via Uplay, with modern features like Desync Recovery and Quickmatch
- in the case of 1503, got the multiplayer properly and stable running for the first time ever
- added some new quality of life features for all them

If they would've added new assets I'd agree, but these are all technical upgrades I'd would expect as a "fanservice patch".
I don't want to downplay the work involved, but Ubisoft could afford it.

Just look at the BioShock remasters, Red Faction: Guerilla, and (never mind the shitty quality) Mafia II & III.
They were all free.

inner-G · May 27, 2020

SuikerBrood said:
Is there cross-play between older and newer versions? With a classic mode or something similar?

Wonder what happens when I have the older version, and they get replaced in the store with the newer ones. But a friend wants to play. Is there a way to play together?

I also wonder if we'll still be able to download the 'classic' versions. They run great on low spec or office PCs now.

Tailzo · May 27, 2020

I had a couple of these for PC. But my most played one was for Nintendo DS

Nerun · May 27, 2020

To be honest, I'm sure it took some work from some people and it's fine if they charge for it, but it's just not interesting for me, same goes for the Settlers updates. Personally I think those "changes" are not enough to rebuy those titles, but that's just me. I was fine with the Remaster for Mafia 2 for example (even if it has a lot of issues), but it was a free patch including the DLCs for me on Steam, so I'm not really complaining.

But I won't but the old games again for 40 Euro, if they aren't even remastered (yeah some things have improved, but nothing I personally care enough for to shell out this kind of money). I rather invest 20 Euro for C&C 1 and Red Alert 1 which got a proper Remaster. But that's just my opinion, also I'm happy that they do develop a new Settlers entry and I'm happy with the DLC and overall Anno 1800 experience, so not gonna deny that ;)

cabelhigh · May 27, 2020

Nice, excited for this! Love 1800 so much, it's my first Anno, and I can't wait to dive into the older games in the series

Phinor · May 27, 2020

GTAce said:
If they would've added new assets I'd agree, but these are all technical upgrades I'd would expect as a "fanservice patch".
I don't want to downplay the work involved, but Ubisoft could afford it.

Just look at the BioShock remasters, Red Faction: Guerilla, and (never mind the shitty quality) Mafia II & III.
They were all free.

There's also the compromise option of offering a discount if you already own the previous version. For example I was pretty happy with Dark Souls 2 Scholar release because they offered a good discount for owning the previous game/DLC already. 1404 has a pretty decent full price of 14.99€, but if it was half that for owning the previous game, I would be interested.

Dr.Phibes · May 27, 2020

Com_Raven said:
Not gonna tell you that your opinion is wrong, but I would like to point that all of these have taken months of work, and are not what I usually expect in the scope of a patch (especially when it comes to 22 year old games):

- ported them all to 64 bit (also worth pointing out that the two oldest games are from a completely different developer, and took some serious source code archaeology)
- replaced the multiplayer middle-ware, which in some cases had been dead for years (Gamespy) to work via Uplay, with modern features like Desync Recovery and Quickmatch
- in the case of 1503, got the multiplayer properly and stable running for the first time ever
- added some new quality of life features for all them

That is not possible, as all new multiplayer runs via Uplay (setup similar to Anno 1800), while the older games used services like Gamespy, and haven't had working online for years.

Thanks for the details. From what I've heard back in the day, Max Design documented their code quite well.

Sloane · May 27, 2020

Wish this was on GOG but... yeah, except for 1701, I'd play those games again.

HellofaMouse · May 27, 2020

that platform chart... why? i guess the ones coming to egs and not steam are due to some kind of exclusivity deal with epic, but why are some of them uplay exclusive?

Madjoki · May 27, 2020

HellofaMouse said:
that platform chart... why? i guess the ones coming to egs and not steam are due to some kind of exclusivity deal with epic, but why are some of them uplay exclusive?

Probably not, Settlers History Collection was similar mess even before Ubisoft-EGS deal existed. (only games that were already on Steam got updated versions)
Probably due to Bluebyte not wanting them on Steam.

Com_Raven · May 27, 2020

inner-G said:
I also wonder if we'll still be able to download the 'classic' versions. They run great on low spec or office PCs now.

If you own them, you will of course keep them and will still be able to download them from your libraries. They will however be removed for new buyers.

Dr.Phibes said:
Thanks for the details. From what I've heard back in the day, Max Design documented their code quite well.

We may have learned a new thing or two about Austrian accents along the way! :)

Madjoki said:
Probably due to Bluebyte not wanting them on Steam.

As the development team, we do not decide on which platforms the games appear.

Deleted member 37233 · May 27, 2020

Okay, I wanted to say that I'll buy the Collection for Anno 1602 alone, but I see that I can buy it seperately? It's my favourite of the bunch and the best until 1800 released.
And I bet it will look really nice with 4k resolution!

What a cool announcement! I think 10€ are more than fair for such a gem.

inner-G · May 27, 2020

Com_Raven said:
They will however be removed for new buyers.

Yikes, that's not a good look.

So they will essentially become abandonware?

medyej · May 27, 2020

I get why they remove the old versions, the new ones will be the ones they have to support and it doesn't make sense to have to deal with people accidentally buying the older versions that barely work now and then having the costs/time associated with servicing those people.

It also seems like a lot of work went into these ports so I don't mind them charging for them.

Aangster · May 27, 2020

Will the History Edition release of Anno 1404 on Steam require Uplay?

Com_Raven · May 28, 2020

inner-G said:
Yikes, that's not a good look.

So they will essentially become abandonware?

I understand the preservation concerns (though there are of course the physical copies, and everyone who owns the classic versions digitally will keep them), but it doesn't really make sense to offer the both the classic and History editions at the same time:

- gameplay is exactly the same (plus some small quality of life improvements)
- History Editions cost the same as the classic games
- As grandwizorb mentioned, the classic games have issues running on modern PCs (1602 for example needs you to fiddle with legacy settings), while the new versions are all about making sure they run properly on modern PCs

Aangster said:
Will the History Edition release of Anno 1404 on Steam require Uplay?

As with all Ubisoft games, yes. Uplay is also used for multiplayer.

inner-G · May 28, 2020

Com_Raven said:
- As grandwizorb mentioned, the classic games have issues running on modern PCs (1602 for example needs you to fiddle with legacy settings), while the new versions are all about making sure they run properly on modern PCs

Non-modern PCs are my concern.

I like to tinker with older and retro systems and it's cool to be able to install my older ANNO games on them.

Mr.Deadshot · May 28, 2020

Oh, the memories. These are the best economy games out there :)

Hektor · May 28, 2020

Com_Raven said:
I understand the preservation concerns (though there are of course the physical copies, and everyone who owns the classic versions digitally will keep them), but it doesn't really make sense to offer the both the classic and History editions at the same time:

Wouldn't it be possible to just include the legacy version in every purchase of the new one?
At least i think that's how remasters should be sold, altho they rarely ever do.

Fularu · May 28, 2020

inner-G said:
Non-modern PCs are my concern.

I like to tinker with older and retro systems and it's cool to be able to install my older ANNO games on them.

You still can

inner-G · May 28, 2020

Fularu said:
You still can

I can because I own them but it's kind of lame they'll be removed for new buyers. I mean it's not the end of the world, but also not very cool to see digital games being handled that way. The classic versions should still be available

borntoulouselautrec · May 28, 2020

Com_Raven said:
As with all Ubisoft games, yes. Uplay is also used for multiplayer.

Will the Steam version of 1404 have achievement support?

The Anno History Collection Announced, out June 25th

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