All of the Anno games are inspired by history and our team spent a significant amount of time researching the era of Anno 1800. History buffs across all departments of the team spent countless hours going through hundreds of photographs and pictures as a reference for the design of ships and houses, researching on the societal changes and struggles of the time and discussing how to implement those as a gameplay feature. So while we are not and don’t want to be historically accurate, plenty of references can be found in the game.

The 1800s have also been an era of technology and innovations. Take “The Great Exhibition” that took place in London in 1851 as an example, which inspired the World’s Fairs in the game. Ground breaking innovations of the time found their way into Anno 1800, like railroads, electricity or steam ships, while Old Nate and his inventions are of course a small venture into early science fiction.

When we’re talking about expeditions, many of you were also curious about the inspirations for The Passage and we already had a Union Talk with our Game Writer África about the background of the DLC. So to give you a few more insights into the (ant)arctic expeditions of the time, for example the Franklin Expedition, we enlisted popular artist Fatherlorris of The Chapel and asked him to create some comics for us.

Who is this Fatherlorris and The Chapel, you ask? Well, we let him introduce himself:

Hi, my name is Ryan AKA Fatherlorris. And the Chapel is a little webcomic about strategy games.

How did you get into making comics – and even more so comics about strategy games?

I first started making comics as a hobby in high school, I am very dyslexic and wasn’t particularly literate so comics were a great way to make my friends laugh without needing to use too many words. But more importantly a great way of giving friends birthday and Christmas presents without spending any money. Then a few years ago I decided to sign up to reddit and post a comic there, it was a surprise success and I have been making comics ever since

Most of the games you’re creating comics about have a historical setting. A hobby of yours?

Yes, absolutely. Always been a huge fan of history. I am from South Wales, not too far from the Blaenavon Ironworks, one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution. The landscape all around is shaped by the coal and steel industry and I think it’s almost impossible not to take an interest in it.

Obvious follow-up question: How did you get involved with Anno then?

I was actually a bit of a latecomer to anno, I only started playing with the release of ANNO: 1404 Venice. At the time it was one of the only multiplayer city builders on the market, and that really appealed to me.

With these latest comics focusing on the (Ant-)Artic: Do you have personal connections to those regions or their history?

I don’t have any personal connection beyond my great granddad sinking the coal mine that dug the coal that fuelled the ships that sailed to the arctic. I actually got interested in the Arctic by accident, I picked up a copy of The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard and it was one of the most gripping books I have ever read. Ever since I have been reading every diary about arctic expeditions I could get my hands on. If you are looking for crazy Tolkienesque tales about real people then I would definitely recommend a book written by or about an arctic explorer.

Thank you very much, Ryan!

So, without further ado: here is the first The Chapel comic about the events of the Franklin expedition. There will be 4 more about similar icy adventures which will be shared in future Union Updates – so keep an eye out 😉

Hey Anno Community,

Time sure flies! Has it already been a year since you all first joined us in the age of the industrial revolution? Turns out the answer is yes, and what an incredible year it has been for all of us. So, let us look back at the first year of Anno 1800 together!

April 16, 2019: Anno 1800, the seventh game in the equally beloved and long-running Anno series is released, inviting PC gamers worldwide into the age of the industrial revolution

April 29, 2019: Thanks to all of you, we can announce that Anno 1800 is officially the fastest selling game in the franchise’s 20-year history! Thanks everyone ?

June 5, 2019: “The Anarchist” Dr. Hugo Mercier joins the party as the first new content release for the game, including a new NPC opponent (or ally), new quests and items. Alongside Hugo come new menus for construction projects like the world fair, dig site and court of justice.

July 30, 2019: Annoholics start the hunt for “Sunken Treasures” with our first DLC from the Season 1 Pass, which includs major new features like the diving bell system and item crafting with Old Nate, and of course the ever popular Crown Falls island, which has become the centerpiece of many a building record attempt. On the free side of things, Game Update 4 brings with it a higher zoom level, overall performance improvements, reworked expedition rewards and improvements to the trade route menu.

August 19, 2019: Not only does Anno 1800 make an appearance at the first ever gamescom Opening Night Live event alongside some of the biggest games of the year, but it also gives players a first glimpse at “Botanica” and “The Passage”, plus the announcement of the all-new day and night mode that many of you had been hoping for!

September 5, 2019: Our second Season 1 DLC, Botanica, makes your cities bloom with the new botanical garden, while bringing a lot of free improvements as part of Game Update 5. Among those are the beloved day and night mode, new plaza tiles for your cultural buildings, new botanical expeditions, ships being able to escort between sessions and… ghost ships. So many ghost ships.

October 1, 2019: As a result of the ghost ship invasion of 2019, we announce a change to our development roadmap, combining the free Game Update for the co-op and statistics features with the release of “The Passage” for December. We also announce a larger scale test to give community members to chance to help us fine-tune this huge update prior to release.

December 10, 2019: Marking the biggest day since release for Anno 1800, December 10 has something for everyone! “The Passage” invites players for a dangerous journey into the arctic, the statistics system gives everyone the ability to fine-tune their economy even further, the co-op mode unites former enemies, and the “Holiday Pack” allows Annoholics to construct a beautiful Christmas Market in their cities.

December 12, 2019: What’s the best way to end the year on a high note? Awards! Anno 1800 is the big winner at the 2019 edition of the German Developer Award, winning across all nominated categories, including the main award for the “Best German Game”. Dankeschön!

February 28, 2020: All good things must come to an end, and so we say goodbye to two long-time veterans of the Anno franchise, with Anno 1800’s Executive Producer Burkhard Ratheiser and Senior Creative Director Dirk Riegert moving on to other projects here at Ubisoft Mainz. In their stead, we welcome our new Game Director Manuel Reinher and Senior Producer Charles Harribey.

March 9, 2020: After an extended content break, Anno 1800 is back and firing on all cylinders with the announcement of the Season 2 Pass. For the first time ever in the history of the series, an Anno game will get a second year of support, including several free Game Updates and three all new DLCs! In addition, we have to say “thank you” to everyone in the community once more, as we announce that the game had attracted more than a million players by December 2019!

March 24, 2020: Only two weeks after the announcement, the new “Seat of Power” DLC kicks of Season 2 of Anno 1800 in style, inviting you to construct a magnificent palace. Alongside the new DLC comes Game Update 7, including several improvements like a difficulty setting for the influence system, improved multi-copy and reworked item pools for the diving bell system.

As you can see, we have been busy, and continue to be so with all the future goodness coming to the game. This Summer, we will invite you to give your farms a big boost with “Bright Harvest”, before travelling to the “Land of Lions” in Fall. And we are of course also working on new Free Updates, including an overview of all your items, and the much-rumored return of the “Great Eastern”.

Before we leave you for today, we again want to stress how all the above has only been possible thanks to your passion and support of Anno over the years. As a small token of our gratitude, we are releasing the “Imperial Pack” (Anno 1800’s Pre-Order Bonus) and all Twitch Drop Ornaments from 2019 to all our players for free… today! So the next time you start the game, you will have access to 10 additional ornaments, as well as the Imperial skins for the command ship and train engine.

Thanks for playing, stay tuned to the Anno Union for future news, and (most importantly)
stay safe and healthy!

Thanks,

The Anno 1800 Team