0 A.D. | A free, open-source game of ancient warfare

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Wildfire Games, an international group of volunteer game developers, proudly announces the release of 0 A.D. Release 28: “Boiorix”, the twenty-eighth version of 0 A.D., a free, open-source real-time strategy game of ancient warfare. The release is named after the king of the Cimbri Germanic tribe Boiorix.

Easy download and install

Download and installation instructions are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. 0 A.D. is free software. This means you can download, redistribute, modify and contribute to the application under the same licenses: GNU Public Licence version 2 (GPL v2) for code and Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 (CC-BY-SA 3.0) for artwork. Although you might find some people selling copies of 0 A.D., either over the internet or on physical media, you will always have the option to download 0 A.D. completely gratis, directly from the developers. No “freemium” model, no in-game advertising, no catch.

Don’t forget to deactivate every mod before updating the game to avoid any risk of conflict. If you’re a mod creator, please look at this page on how to port your mod to the new version. As always, feel free to reach out to us for assistance.

Now is the time to contribute!

The Release 28 is our first release without the Alpha label: our development process has matured, our releases are more frequent, and our commitment to quality has never been higher. Now is the time to join us and place 0 A.D. in the spotlight . We need your help to make the game flourish and to bring new features to life.

As you can see, this release unfortunately comes without a video trailer. It is difficult for the current team to spread the word about our beloved game. We are in sore need of contributors in the following areas:

Video Editing

Social Media Management

Website Design

Of course, we are also always looking for, and providing a welcoming contribution environment, for:

Testers and Quality Assurance enthusiasts

Translators (get started right away on Transifex)

and of course, Developers and Artists – the team will gladly welcome contributions in all areas.

You can also support us by simply donating. This allows us to pay the server hosting fees for our multiplayer, websites, and development environments.

A new faction: the Germans

Terror Germanicus, the fear of the Germanic tribes migrating south, from the Jutland region, towards the Roman Republic, is coming to 0 A.D. in Release 28.

The Cimbri were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the north of modern-day Denmark. In the late 2nd century BC, their migration south into Italy and France would spark the decade-long Cimbrian War against the Roman Republic. Accompanied by powerful armies and seeresses, Germanic convoys, in long trains of wagons, brought livestock, shelter and goods. The Cimbri placed great importance on animals for religious sacrifices.

In 0 A.D., we represent the nomadic coalition formed between the Cimbri, the Teutones, the Ambrones, and other Celto-German tribes simply as the "Germans". The Germans are a semi-nomadic civilization with a flexible economy owing to Supply Wagons and Wagon Encampments, which can be fortified. The unique technologies "Wagon Trains" and "Migratory Resettlement" lean into this flexibility, reducing dependence on territorial boundaries. The Germans also feature an aggressive lineup of siege units, with a crush-dealing unit available in each phase. Between their economic flexibility and unique military units, Cimbrian raiders, Log Rams, and Seeresses, the Germans are a mysterious force to be reckoned with.

Play with this new faction, against their historical Roman foes, or turn history around by making them battle the 14 other factions of the game. Many other novelties await you in the new release of 0 A.D.!

Top new features of Release 28

Gendered Civilians

Direct Font Rendering

Support for JavaScript Modules

New Game-Setup Options

Lobby improvements

Engine upgrades and updated platform support

New quotes and tips

Various balancing improvements

… and much more!

Gendered Civilians

In an effort to improve historical consistency, we have replaced the visual appearance of civilian units. Previously described as a "female citizen", the basic economic unit is now called the "civilian" and has male and female models.

This enhancement was made possible by incremental improvements of the engine, which now allows a unit to have variants not only in its appearance, but also in its voice and in other gendered characteristics.

In the civilizations displayed in the game, women did not usually hold citizenship, which was a prized social status. The "female citizen" was a misnomer. It was also incorrect to display all men as...