It’s been close to five years since the last installment of Sid Meier’s overwhelmingly popular strategy franchise, but 2K games has announced that a follow-up will be with PC gamers in quarter four this year.

The fifth title in the series will utilise an entirely new game engine built from the ground up, introducing an all-new combat system and “hexagonal” tiles along with it. Also new in Civilization V is “ranged bombardment”, which allows players to engage in combat from beyond the front lines.

Civilization V will also see the introduction of community, modding and multiplayer elements for the first time.

"Sid Meier's Civilization franchise has been recognised as one of the greatest PC game franchises of all time with millions of units sold worldwide," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Civilization V takes the franchise further by offering players a more immersive experience with deeper strategies; heightened tactical combat; vast, realistic landscapes to explore, battle over and claim as their own; and an in-game community hub where Civ fans can share content and compete against each other without leaving the game. This marks a new era that will forever change the franchise responsible for sleep deprivation and reduced productivity for nearly two decades."

"Each new version of Civilization presents exciting challenges for our team," said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. "Thankfully, ideas on how to bring new and fun experiences to Civ players never seem to stop flowing. From fully animated leaders and realistic landscapes, new combat tactics, expanded diplomacy and shared mods, we're excited for players to see the new vision our team at Firaxis has brought to the series."