The first true SimCity expansion pack, Cities of Tomorrow, has been announced by Maxis.
SimCity: Cities of Tomorrow will allow mayors to take their cities 50 years into the future. Players can send their cities down two routes: create a utopia based on clean energy, or let your city thrive under the mega corporation OmegaCo.
The SimCity expansion will contain a host of visual changes when cities advance into the future, but also some gameplay additions. Maglevs, service and delivery drones and huge skyscrapers (known as MegaTowers) will fill the skies of your city.
MegaTowers are huge, customisable multi-use buildings. Up to eight modules can be stacked on each other, from residential, commercial and industrial modules to modules that generate electricity. The towers can also be linked via sky bridges.
Players will also be able to unleash a new disaster upon their cities: a giant robot attack.
IGN posted a video preview of Cities of Tomorrow which gives us a more detailed look at how cities will change when they enter the future.
Vertical city expansion is unlikely to be seen by SimCity players as a satisfactory replacement for larger maps. The expansion will not contain the rumoured offline mode, either. At present, a constant Internet connection is required to play SimCity. Server problems at launch (and beyond) caused players to lose their cities, if they were able to connect to the servers in the first place.
However, players would obviously prefer an offline mode and larger cities to be included in a free update, so this may be seen as a blessing in disguise.
This SimCity expansion pack follows several small releases of downloadable content, including electric car charging stations, theme parks, and, most recently Red Cross Relief Centres.
Announced earlier this week, 80% of profits from the $9.99 Red Cross DLC will be given to the charity, or $100, 000, whichever is higher after 12 months on sale.
SimCity also recently saw its long delayed release on Mac.
SimCity: Cities of Tomorrow is available to pre-order now, with a limited edition containing a Launch Arcology available through Origin for $29.99/£29.99.
The first SimCity expansion pack will launch on November 12 in the U.S. and November 15 in the U.K. on PC and Mac.