Steam launch: New city builder game based on ancient China has an Early Access discount in tow

President Studios, a Warsaw-based development team, has just released its latest game, Celestial Empire, into Early Access. Fans of city builders are eagerly watching this title, as it currently stands at #38 on Steam’s wishlists, which is no mean feat on its own accord.

Celestial Empire merges the cultural beauty of imperial China with complex, strategic city-building mechanics. The game combines elements of production and management in a sandbox setting while building onto it with a degree of complexity that most fans of city builder titles would appreciate.

This is further backed by some solid reviews, which are very positive across a sample size of 53 at the time of writing.  The title itself features impressive visuals inspired by the aesthetic of ancient Chinese empires and a fair depth of mechanics steeped in the lore of the age.

President Studios, founded in 2018, has a passion for narrative simulators and strategy games, combining its design with popular cultural trends. The studio is best known for its hit title Crime Scene Cleaner. With a team size of around 26, the Celestial Empire has been in development for over five years.

The game allows players to build, manage, and grow their empire across some beautiful landscapes like bamboo forests, rugged mountains, lakes, and rivers, rendered by the awesome Unreal Engine’s Nanite Geometry System and NVIDIA DLSS 3.

Celestial Empire offers players hand-crafted terrains instead of procedurally generated maps, with over 120 unique buildings, over 60 resource types, and a production pipeline that will challenge players with events and situations. Prepare and adapt for seasonal effects, fires, floods, and other natural disasters, deal with citizen morale, divine favours, and other influences brought about by the mystical elements of a deeply layered system in order to “maintain the Mandate of Heaven.”

For those seeking a multiplayer challenge, Celestial Empire might disappoint; it is solely focused on making your single-player endeavors shape the future of your ​dynasty.