Ara: History Untold v2.0 Revolutions Update Expands Historical Strategy Through Culture and Influence
Ambitious historical strategy game prepares for first anniversary by adding nation specific units, unique leader traits, cultural conquest, AI updates and much more
Stardock Entertainment and Oxide Games, in partnership with Xbox Game Studios, announced Ara: History Untold – Version 2.0 today. Dubbed the Revolutions Update, version 2.0 is a massive expansion of new features and content.
Informed by community feedback, the Revolutions Update adds a new Culture and Influence System, gives each nation its own unique unit, gives greater player control while simultaneously reducing micromanagement, improves performance, includes a major AI revamp and much more.
Key Features:
Culture & Influence Systems: Cities gain a new quality of life category called Culture. Culture generates Influence, a new currency used to acquire cultural traits and expand territory through claims. This creates meaningful alternatives to military expansion.
Agitator Unit: Introduced with the Revolutions technology at the end of the Renaissance, Agitators can be sent into adjacent foreign regions to stir rebellion and, through Influence, bring those territories into your nation. This unlocks a second form of conquest in Act II: ideological subversion.
Per-Nation Units: Every civilization now commands unique historical forces, from Mongol Horse Archers to Japanese Samurai, adding tactical depth and flavor.
Leader Redesigns: Every leader has been reimagined with unique mechanics, traits, and abilities, ensuring more replayability and personality-driven diplomacy.
Priority & Quota Crafting System: Micromanaged production queues are replaced with smarter stockpile and priority controls, freeing players to focus on high-level strategy.
Adaptive AI: A more dynamic and personality-driven AI responds to player performance, making diplomacy, warfare, and resource management more challenging and believable.
Map Generation Overhaul: Realistic natural resource clustering plus new exclusivity rules modeling historical trade and competition.
High DPI UI & Visual Update: A sharper, scalable UI built for modern displays, with new accessibility and customization options.
Performance Boosts: Major engine optimizations deliver faster turns, smoother framerates, and reduced CPU usage.
Ara: History Untold offers a fresh take on historical turn-based strategy where players can build a nation that spans all of human history. Heavily inspired by player feedback, the v2.0 update delivers new and refined features that make the game more approachable for new and existing players.
“We’re really excited to bring Culture as a game mechanic into Ara,” said Brad Wardell, Chief Executive Officer for Stardock and Oxide. “The role of ‘soft power’ cannot be overstated. While military conquest remains the most direct way of expanding one's territory, we really wanted to give players other means of expanding their control of the world. This is especially true in the late game when the explore and expand parts of the game have reached their maximum.”
Ara: History Untold v2.0 – "The Revolutions Update" is currently available as a preview right now. It is scheduled for final release on September 24, 2025.
