A major update and overhaul for the 4X strategy game Ara: History Untold has been released, with version 2.0, dubbed the Revolutions Update, out now.
This update is when we see the fruits of the new development partnership with Stardock, who stepped into a production role to further the game’s post-launch roadmap earlier this year. The revolutions update has been developed with key community feedback, building in a new culture and influence system, units specific to certain nations, quota crafting systems and more.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Culture & Influence Systems – Cities gain a new quality of life category called Culture. Culture generates Influence, a new currency used to acquire cultural traits and expand territory through claims. This creates meaningful alternatives to military expansion.
- Agitator Unit – Introduced with the Revolutions technology at the end of the Renaissance, Agitators can be sent into adjacent foreign regions to stir rebellion and, through Influence, bring those territories into your nation. This unlocks a second form of conquest in Act II: ideological subversion.
- Per-Nation Units – Every civilization now commands unique historical forces, from Mongol Horse Archers to Japanese Samurai, adding tactical depth and flavor.
- Leader Redesigns – Every leader has been reimagined with unique mechanics, traits, and abilities, ensuring more replayability and personality-driven diplomacy.
- Priority & Quota Crafting System – Micromanaged production queues are replaced with smarter stockpile and priority controls, freeing players to focus on high-level strategy.
- Adaptive AI – A more dynamic and personality-driven AI responds to player performance, making diplomacy, warfare, and resource management more challenging and believable.
- Map Generation Overhaul – Realistic natural resource clustering plus new exclusivity rules modeling historical trade and competition.
- High DPI UI & Visual Update – A sharper, scalable UI built for modern displays, with new accessibility and customization options.
- Performance Boosts – Major engine optimizations deliver faster turns, smoother framerates, and reduced CPU usage.
“We’re thrilled to introduce Culture as a gameplay element in Ara: History Untold,” stated Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock and Oxide. “The importance of ‘soft power’ is immense. Although military conquest is the most straightforward method for territorial expansion, we aimed to provide players with alternative strategies for asserting their influence over the world. This becomes particularly significant in the late game, when exploration and expansion have already reached their limits.”
Ara: History Untold is one of a number of historical 4X titles that have sprung up to challenge Civilization – especially looking to launch ahead of Civ 7 – each introducing their own twist on how to deal with the passage of time. Now, with Civ 7’s stumbles, there’s a chance to carve out an audience for this game through steady updates and community building. In our review, I said, “Ara: History Untold is another distinctive take on the historical 4X strategy genre, putting a real emphasis on furthering your nation, managing supply chains and resources, and shifting the focus away from warring mentality it’s so easy to sink into. There’s room to grow, but this is a strong contender.”
