Civilization comes to Facebook

Sid Meier has announced that a new version of strategy classic Civilization will be released on Facebook, to be known as Civilization Network.

In a post on fansite Civilization Fanatics Network, original series creator and Firaxis Games co-founder Sid Meier announced the game for the face time and indicated that he would soon be soliciting for beta testers.

"Ever since we finished Civilization Revolution last year, I've been looking at ways of expanding the Civ gameplay experience to include solo, competitive and cooperative play to take advantage of the uniqueness of social networks," said Meier.

The new title will be available on Facebook at an unspecified point next year, will feature a fully persistent environment and will require no fee to pay.

"You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World," said Meier.

Although many publishers and developers have expressed interest in Facebook as a games platform, with EA thought to have paid USD 250 million for developer Playfish, established franchises such as Civilization are still relatively rare on the social network site.

Further details of Civilization Network are expected to be made available at the official fan page at www.facebook.com/civnetwork.