New SimCity game confirmed for 2013

SimCity, the veritable god-sim putting you in charge of the construction and upkeep of your own miniature town, will return for a brand new title in 2013.

Confirmed this morning by EA and developers Maxis, the next instalment in the city-building franchise will use a brand new engine called GlassBox, and be the first title in the series to be fully 3D.

Other new additions in 2013’s SimCity will include curved roads, and an emphasis on the grwoing real-world struggle for dealing with finite resources. Both co-operative and competitive online modes will be available.

Despite not having a firm release date beyond 2013, EA’s Origin digital storefront is already touting pre-order pacakges for SimCity. A $60 limited edition and $80 “digital deluxe” package will be available, with the former adding super heroes and villains to the game as well as unspecified “mystery items”, and that latter adding all that plus new British, French, and German-themed city sets.

The first trailer for the next SimCity can be seen above. It looks great (we particularly liked the little guys on Segways speeding out of the building with power problems!) but do note that there’s a disclaimer stating the graphics aren’t necessary representative of the final game. Sad face ;( .