For over four years, gamers have been playing ‘just one more turn’ into the wee hours of the night in Civilization IV. Now they know when the much anticipated sequel will be released. Firaxis Games announced today that Civilization V will be released this fall for the PC.

Not much information was released regarding it but what we do know is listed after the break.

Believable landscapes

Civilization IV offered much improved landscapes and maps from past games, and Civilization V looks to make the worlds even more vast and realistic looking than ever before.

18 Civilizations

No word yet on what civilizations will be included, but there will reportedly be 18 civilizations in the initial release.

Improved diplomacy

Civilization IV improved diplomacy greatly over what existed before it, but FIraxis promises to improve upon it with even more options and ways to interact with your allies and enemies

City States

It appears Firaxis will also be introducing minor civilizations that will add a new wrinkle and dimension to diplomacy and strategy.

No more grid system

Screenshots of Civilization V show a hex map rather than the familiar grid system that all past Civilization games have used. From the screenshots shown below, it appears to result in much more realistic and fluid landscapes.

More realistic battles

Civilization IV completely changed the way combat was treated in the Civilization series, but it was still far from being realistic. It sounds like Firaxis has combat way up their priority list for making it more realistic, strategic, and enjoyable.

Firaxis also provided a few early screenshots of Civilization V, shown below.