When Ubisoft announced Anno 117: Pax Romana, it immediately felt like a natural yet daring evolution of the long-running Anno franchise. For the first time, the series leaves the early-modern and industrial eras behind and steps fully into the world of ancient Rome, placing players at the height of imperial power. Set during the reign of Emperor Trajan, around the year 117 AD, the game embraces a period defined not by collapse or crisis, but by confidence, expansion, and order. This choice alone signals a shift in tone that is both ambitious and refreshingly optimistic.
Unlike many historical games that focus on Rome’s decline, Anno 117 is about governing success. The empire is vast, stable, and prosperous, at least on the surface. The challenge for the player is not survival, but stewardship: how to maintain peace, manage growth, and balance competing interests in a world that already appears to function. This thematic foundation shapes every system in the game and gives Anno 117: Pax Romana a distinctive identity within both the franchise and the broader city-builder genre.
A Roman Setting Built on Confidence, Not Crisis
Choosing the era of Pax Romana is a deliberate design statement. Around 117 AD, the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, stretching from Britain to Mesopotamia. Roads, trade networks, and cities connected distant provinces into a single administrative system. In Anno 117, this historical backdrop becomes the canvas for a game focused on order, logistics, and long-term planning rather than constant emergency management.
The Roman world presented here is not romanticized as perfect, but it is undeniably functional. Cities grow because trade works. Provinces prosper because infrastructure holds them together. This allows the player to experience Rome not as a myth, but as a living system that requires careful governance. The game’s calm, confident tone reflects the mindset of an empire that believes it has solved the problem of ruling the world, even if cracks are already beginning to form beneath the surface.
Core Gameplay: Governing an Empire, Not Just a City
At its heart, Anno 117: Pax Romana remains faithful to the series’ core identity: a complex, deeply satisfying city-builder built around production chains, population needs, and trade. Players take on the role of a Roman governor, tasked with developing settlements, managing resources, and integrating provinces into the imperial economy. Housing evolves through tiers as citizens’ needs are met, encouraging careful planning rather than rapid expansion.
What sets Anno 117 apart is how naturally Roman society fits into these mechanics. Grain, olive oil, wine, stone, and luxury goods are not just resources; they are symbols of stability and social order. Trade routes mirror historical realities, linking coastal cities and inland regions into a web of mutual dependence. Expansion feels earned, not forced, reinforcing the sense that Rome’s power rests on organization as much as conquest.
Systems Beneath the Marble: Depth and Strategic Choice
Beneath the elegant Roman aesthetic lies a dense network of systems designed to reward foresight. Research and discovery play a central role, allowing players to unlock new buildings, administrative tools, and civic improvements. Rather than pushing players toward a single optimal path, the game encourages specialization, forcing difficult decisions about which technologies and policies best suit a given province.
City layout matters profoundly. Roads, public buildings, and production zones must be placed with intention, as inefficiency compounds over time. A poorly planned city may still function, but it will never truly flourish. This slow-burn approach to challenge is one of Anno 117’s greatest strengths, making success feel earned through understanding rather than reflex.
Plot at the Center: Power, Peace, and Political Tension
Unlike many city-builders, where narrative exists only as a loose framing device, Anno 117: Pax Romana places story and political tension at the core of the experience. The campaign unfolds as a quiet drama about governance during an age of peace. There are no world-ending threats or apocalyptic invasions; instead, the conflict lies in maintaining balance within a vast and diverse empire.
The player is constantly confronted with choices that test loyalty, authority, and restraint. Local elites may demand autonomy. Provinces may resist reforms that threaten tradition. Imperial expectations may clash with regional realities. These tensions are not resolved through cutscenes alone, but through gameplay decisions that shape how cities develop and how populations respond. Stability becomes a narrative achievement, not a default state.
Crucially, the plot reflects real Roman concerns without attempting strict historical simulation. Corruption, ambition, and competing interests emerge naturally from systems rather than scripted events. This makes the story feel organic and personal, as if it belongs to the player rather than being imposed upon them.
Reception and Expectations
Early reactions to Anno 117: Pax Romana have highlighted its confident setting and thoughtful design direction. Fans of the series have welcomed the shift to antiquity, noting how well Roman society aligns with Anno’s strengths. The focus on peace, governance, and logistics has been praised for offering a more mature and reflective take on empire-building.
At the same time, discussions within the community acknowledge that the game is historically inspired, not historically rigid. Buildings, timelines, and mechanics are adjusted for gameplay balance, and accuracy is always secondary to clarity and enjoyment. For most players, this balance enhances immersion rather than diminishing it.
History as Atmosphere, Not Constraint
Anno 117 succeeds because it treats history as a foundation, not a cage. Roman imagery, terminology, and social structures provide flavor and coherence, but the game never pretends to be a simulation of real imperial administration. Instead, it uses the idea of Rome, order, law, infrastructure, and ambition to support systems that are engaging and intuitive.
This approach makes the game accessible to players with no background in Roman history while still offering enough authenticity to satisfy those who recognize the references. It is Rome as a living system, not a museum exhibit.
Why Anno 117: Pax Romana Matters
Anno 117: Pax Romana is powerful precisely because it dares to be calm. In a genre often obsessed with disaster and collapse, it asks a subtler question: how do you rule well when everything seems to be working? By focusing on governance during peace, it transforms empire-building into a thoughtful exploration of responsibility, balance, and long-term vision.
For fans of city-builders, it offers depth without chaos. For history enthusiasts, it presents Rome as a complex, functioning society rather than a caricature of decadence or decline. And for the Anno series itself, it represents a confident step into new historical territory, one that feels not only logical but inspired.
Hello, my name is Vladimir, and I am a part of the Roman-empire writing team.
I am a historian, and history is an integral part of my life.
To be honest, while I was in school, I didn’t like history so how did I end up studying it? Well, for that, I have to thank history-based strategy PC games. Thank you so much, Europa Universalis IV, and thank you, Medieval Total War.
Since games made me fall in love with history, I completed bachelor studies at Filozofski Fakultet Niš, a part of the University of Niš. My bachelor’s thesis was about Julis Caesar. Soon, I completed my master’s studies at the same university.
For years now, I have been working as a teacher in a local elementary school, but my passion for writing isn’t fulfilled, so I decided to pursue that ambition online. There were a few gigs, but most of them were not history-related.
Then I stumbled upon roman-empire.com, and now I am a part of something bigger. No, I am not a part of the ancient Roman Empire but of a creative writing team where I have the freedom to write about whatever I want. Yes, even about Star Wars. Stay tuned for that.
Anyway, I am better at writing about Rome than writing about me. But if you would like to contact me for any reason, you can do it at contact@roman-empire.net. Except for negative reviews, of course. 😀
Kind regards,
Vladimir