Sega announced Humankind last year, a 4X strategy game by Amplitude Studios that looked like it was aiming to rival the behemoth Civilization franchise. However, its 2020 launch window has now been pushed back to 2021. The announcement arrived during the PC Gaming Show today alongside a reveal of a new early access-like system to get the community involved.
Dubbed OpenDev, the new system lets players sign up to get selected for testing gameplay slices so they can send feedback to the developer regarding specific components. Three scenarios will be pushed out gradually for players to try out as a part of OpenDev, each focusing on different aspects like exploration and city growth, battles and tactics, as well as defending against invaders.
Signing up for the Humankind OpenDev program can be accomplished through Amplitude's Games2Gether platform, and being selected will grant players limited access to the aforementioned scenarios through Steam. While slots will be limited at first, the studio plans to send out new waves of invites as tests go forward.
Being called the studio's magnum opus, the historical turn-based strategy game will let players mix cultures from over the ages to shape a unique civilization of their own during each playthrough. This isn't the first time Amplitude Studios have tackled this genre, with it being behind the popular Endless franchise previously.
