The Settlers maker is working on a city builder game that will be released later this year

Volker Wertich, the designer and programmer of the original 1993 The Settlers game, is working on a new city builder game that should be released in the fourth quarter of this year. The game is called Pioneers of Pagonia.

Frankfurt-based indie studio Envision Entertainment, of which Wertich is a founding member, says it is in Pioneers of Pagonia it’s all about exploration, discovery and reuniting the islands of fictional Pagonia. Players can decorate more than forty different buildings and use more than seventy different goods.

Just like The Settlers series, it is about managing many production chains, which according to the makers will be extensive, and about creativity in steering the economy. “With Pioneers of Pagonia, we return to the roots of city building simulation, with thousands of residents running around and a focus on the deep simulation of the game world and economy that the community loves,” explains Wertich.

Pioneers of Pagonia will have procedurally generated playing fields, which according to the makers will improve replayability. There will be no campaign present; the developers focus on procedural map and objective creation and state that this will not lead to repetitiveness. Co-op with a second player will be supported, but more game modes such as true multiplayer are not currently part of the plans.

The studio has published a short teaser and some screenshots, which show that, just like with The Settlers, there is a medieval setting. There are more similarities with the 1993 game, such as the way military units can be deployed. In The Settlers, players cannot directly give orders to the units as is usual in RTS games, and that will not be possible in Pioneers of Pagonia either. The military and mystical units are based in certain buildings and from there they can be ordered to claim or guard a certain new area.

Pioneers of Pagonia will be released as an Early Access title at the end of this year on Steam. That status will last for at least six months. The game’s main features will be present when the early access phase begins.