Anno 1800 Delayed to April, Closed Beta Starts Next Week

Blue Byte believes the game can be "even better" with "additional polish and tuning".

Blue Byte has finally dated the closed beta period for Anno 1800, it’s city-building opus that takes place during the Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, it seems that the main game has been delayed in the process. Instead of February, Anno 1800 will now be releasing on April 16th.

Still, the closed beta starts on January 31st, and will be available till February 4th on PC. Sign up today and maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few selected. Regarding the delay, Blue Byte community developer Bastian Thun said, “We are very happy with where the game and its wide mix of new and classic features are today, but we know that it can be even better with a little additional polish and tuning. These extra weeks will allow us to deliver a game that fully lives up to its potential.”

More information about the campaign and multiplayer will be coming in the next few weeks. Thun also teased the game’s post-launch support, noting that the development team had some “cool ideas” for the future.  “The Anno 1800 journey won’t end at launch. We will share more details closer to April 16th but can assure that we have some cool ideas for future post-launch content for the game.”

Check out the trailer for the closed beta below. Along with building cities, players will also indulge in tourism and “blue-printing”. We’re unsure if the latter is meant to focus on reproducing technical drawings using contact presses or not. Stay tuned for more details regardless.