The Settlers (series)

The Settlers is a video game series. The first game in the series is The Settlers (1993). There are eight games in the series, including remakes. All of the games were developed by Blue Byte Software, and were published by either Blue Byte or Ubisoft, the company that later acquired Blue Byte.

Games
The Settlers, (also known as Serf City, original German title Die Siedler) is a slow-paced simulation computer game by German developer Blue Byte Software, first released in 1993 for the Commodore Amiga and in 1994 for the PC. It was the first game of its type, blending together principles which had not been seen in a single game before, and defined the line of the later Settlers games. On the hardware available at the time, the game could control a maximum of 64,000 individuals, all behaving autonomously.

The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici (original German title: Die Siedler II: Veni, Vidi, Vici) is a real-time strategy computer game, released by Blue Byte Software in 1996. Its gameplay is very similar to that of its predecessor, The Settlers, albeit with a Roman theme and improved graphics. Many fans of the franchise consider this the best game of the Settlers series, primarily because future installments changed the transport management aspect considerably. This popularity more recently boosted Blue Byte's decision to publish a remake of the game, The Settlers II 10th Anniversary for Windows and Nintendo DS port.

The Settlers III is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Blue Byte Software, being the second sequel to The Settlers. This isometric city-building game was released on November 30, 1998. The most notable difference between this game and its two predecessors is that there are no more roads—all units, including carriers with goods, can walk around freely. This simplifies the building of a settlement, since only the distances between buildings are relevant, and not how roads can be constructed between them. Military units are now directly controlled, making fighting more similar to games like Command & Conquer or Age of Empires, than to the previous Settlers games. Settlers III was also famous for its peculiar copy protection: in pirated versions of the game, iron smelters would only produce pigs instead of iron, which made weapon production impossible.

The Settlers IV is a real-time strategy video game developed by Blue Byte Software, being the third sequel to The Settlers. In The Settlers IV there are four races: the Mayans, the Vikings, the Romans, and the Dark Tribe. The game can be played via either singleplayer, playing against the computer, or against another human opponent, via multiplayer, and features a "free settle" mode where players are free to build a civilisation with no fear of attack. The game also features in the iPhone and iPod Touch, with free and paid-for versions available, the title of which is "The Settlers", differing slightly from the PC title. Even though the title is different the basis of the game is much the same, but using the iPhone's touch controls.

The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (also known unofficially as The Settlers V, original German title: Die Siedler - das Erbe der Könige) is the fifth instalment of The Settlers series of Real Time Strategy games on the PC. Heritage of Kings breaks off from the typical pattern that Settlers games have followed since they began: while the concept of the game remains, in essence, the same, a lot of the gameplay features have changed from those of The Settlers IV, and slightly resemble many of the gameplay aspects displayed in the game Cossacks: European Wars. Despite this, Heritage of Kings still maintains many of the characteristics of classic Settlers gameplay.

The Settlers II 10th Anniversary (original German title: Die Siedler II: Die nächste Generation) is a remake of the classic real-time strategy game The Settlers II. It was announced in July 2006. The Settlers II 10th Anniversary Edition features up-to-date 3D graphics and new gameplay additions. The game has been released in Germany in September 2006 and in the UK in October 2006. An English-language version is also available in various other regions, including Scandinavia and Asia. The game has not been released in North America.

The Settlers: Rise of an Empire (original German title: Die Siedler - Aufstieg eines Königreichs), a real-time strategy game, is the sixth game in The Settlers series. It was developed by Blue Byte and published by UbiSoft, with a US release date of September 25, 2007, a European release date of September 28, and an Australian release date of September 30. A Limited Edition is also available, containing additional in-game content (including statues and a pavilion), an art book, bonus DVD, original soundtrack, technology tree sheet, and a demo CD.

The Settlers: Rise of Cultures, original German title: Die Siedler: Aufbruch der Kulturen, not available in English language

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom is a real time strategy and city-building video game developed by Blue Byte Software and published by Ubisoft. It was released on March 23, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.