Sid Meier has delved into a variety of settings with the ever-expanding catalog of simulation and strategy games he's known for, most recently outer space with the latest installment of Civilization: Beyond Earth. Developer Firaxis Games has already revealed that the game veteran isn't returning to earth just yet with the next title Sid Meier's Starships.

Since announcing Starships last month, Firaxis Games has shared screenshots and a 30-minutes of gameplay, and have now confirmed a release date of March 12th. We never expected that the game would be available so soon, but even more impressive than that is the fact Starships will be released on PC, Mac and iPad for only $15.

Sid Meier's Starships is set to take place in the same universe as Civilization: Beyond Earth, and will be a turn-based adventure-driven strategy game. Players will spend the entire game in space, protecting colonized planets against scouting alien planets like in Civilization: Beyond Earth.

The title will be a bit less expansive when compared to the immense Civilization franchise, however it will still offer a variety of depth with different load-outs, attributes, and modifiers. There's also an anticipated high replay value thanks to the inclusion of dynamic combat missions.

From everything revealed so far, it looks like Sid Meier's Starships will be a welcome addition to the franchise of games in Sid Meier's catalog, with it's visual aesthetic and lower bar of entry as well as its price and learning curve. There will also be aspects of the game that Civilization fans will recognize, helping the title fit right in with what they are used to.

With that said, at this point the main concern is the aforementioned replay value. We'll have to see if the dynamic system keeps gamers returning to the title, or if the game ends up being a bite sized version of the popular Civilization releases that fans of the series love.

Are you looking forward to checking out Sid Meier's Starships when it's available next month? Do you like the idea of a less robust entry in the Sid Meier offerings?

Sid Meier's Starships will be available on March 12th, 2015 for PC, Mac and iPad.

Source: IGN