Microsoft’s Civilization 7 competitor escalates tensions with Firaxis’ embattled 4X, announcing that nukes are coming with its impending diplomacy update

Ara: History Untold was a decent attempt by Microsoft to snatch some strategic territory from Firaxis’ Civilization series, but all its sabre-rattling didn’t seem to come to much when it launched last September. Perhaps this is due to the fact its pleasingly modular city construction was undermined by hefty micromanagement. Or maybe it’s because it launched without some key features, like a diplomacy system deeper than a puddle, and more specifically, the ability to annihilate rival cultures in a flash of nuclear fire.

Both will be addressed by Ara’s impending Diplomacy Update, which Oxide Games recently announced is “coming soon”. Patch 1.3 adds a bunch of features to Ara, including new diplomatic options, new diplomatic events, and, of course, the ability to build and launch nuclear weapons.

Naturally, weapons of mass destruction are the headline feature of the update, although Oxide Games doesn’t provide many specifics of how these will be implemented. The update’s Steam announcement brusquely states, “players can unlock technologies to build nuclear weapons and defenses”, which isn’t especially informative. That said, Oxide does provide some images of the game’s “Nuclear ICBM technology” in action, and fair enough, that is one fine-looking explosion.

In conjunction with nukes, the update also aims to enhance the game’s array of diplomatic tools to help you avoid pushing the big red button. As of 1.3, players will be able to engage in bribery, demand tributes, provide military aid, and gain better tools to understand the views of other nations. Further, the update will add “diplomatic history tracking” that provides a detailed rundown of your long-term relationship with other nations, as well as new diplomatic events that “influence AI behaviour”, with specific regard to war preparations.

Oxide says the full patch notes will be unveiled next week, along with more details about how the new diplomacy systems work. While diplomacy was undoubtedly one of the weaker elements of Ara, Oxide’s game had a pretty good core. Indeed, while it has a ‘Mixed’ rating on Steam overall, the handful of more recent reviews have been much warmer, with some reviewers appreciating the game’s management depth after Civilization 7‘s controversial lighter take on the 4X formula. It makes me wonder if Ara might have fared better launching after Civ 7 rather than before, pitching itself as the fuller alternative to a questionable entry in an illustrious series, much like Cities: Skylines did ten years ago. It’ll be much harder for Oxide to do that now, but adding nukes and negotiations is a step in the right direction.