Goodbye, Earth

Civilization: Beyond Earth is coming this fall, and yeah, this announcement made the rounds online last weekend already, but I’m writing about it anyway because Civilization matters to me in a way that’s probably embarrassing. I’ve spent thousands of hours destroying cities, crushing armies, watching entire civilizations burn just so I could win one more time.

I can’t seize the actual world, so digital conquest will do. I’m fine with it. The new game’s set in space—which is honestly the best thing Sid Meier could’ve said. No more manufacturing nuclear wars against some cartoon tyrant. Now I get to discover alien worlds, fight monsters, and somehow rescue what’s left of humanity from destroying itself.

Come this fall, I’m gone. Not taking calls, not interested in anything else. I’ll be out there, planet-hopping, building empires from nothing on worlds that exist only in code. You all figure it out without me.