Sid Meier shared some details on the making of Starships in an interview with the Guardian. He stressed that the game would be full retail on both iPad and PC/Mac.
Sid was very adamant about the game not having any microtransactions, and not using any freemium models. So there will be no timers, pay-gates, experience boosters, or anything of the sort.
This is what he has to say about using full retail pricing:
That model works very well for us. We can focus on making the best game that we can, rather than trying to figure out the whole paywalls and all the other aspects you have to stick in there. We’re happy to make games that don’t include microtransactions.
It’s worth noting that Sid’s library has representation on the iPad, including Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and Starships’ sister game, Civilization: Beyond Earth. Sid is fascinated with the possibilities of the iPad as a gaming platform, particularly for strategy games. Having been there through several cycles of gaming, he also reassured PC gamers that he would not abandon the platform, and that it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Sid also talked about his desire to make a sci-fi game, and how Firaxis mirrored that desire back at him. He was personally influenced by Star Trek, Star Wars, and other popular shows. Firaxis, on their end, felt that Beyond Earth was the perfect jumping point into making such a game.
Sid layered on top of his inspiration with his own elements, such as tactical battles (you can hide behind asteroids), and the return of hex fields.
Sid Meier's Starships will be released on March 12, 2015, for Microsoft Windows and iOS, and an OS X version to follow.
