AMPLITUDE Studios Announces HUMANKIND 2 for 2027
The live-action trailer clarification addresses a growing skepticism about AI-generated media in game announcements, with AMPLITUDE Studios choosing transparency over silence.
Key Facts
- AMPLITUDE Studios announced HUMANKIND 2 at gamescom Opening Night Live on August 26 Japan time.
- HUMANKIND 2 is scheduled for release in 2027 on PC via Steam.
- The HUMANKIND 2 trailer was filmed live-action at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, using real actors and sets, according to the studio.
- The original HUMANKIND, released in 2021, is currently on sale on Steam at 90% off, priced at 559 yen including tax.
- HUMANKIND 2 introduces a new growth system and evolved visuals and UI, with climate change altering biomes and strategic maps.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
AMPLITUDE Studios announced the turn-based strategy game HUMANKIND 2 at gamescom Opening Night Live on August 26 Japan time. The sequel to the 2021 title HUMANKIND is set for release on PC via Steam in 2027. The trailer shown at the event drew questions from some viewers about whether it was made with generative AI, prompting the studio to confirm on the series' official X account that the footage was filmed live-action at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, using real actors, physical sets, and custom-made props. Behind-the-scenes photos are planned for release soon, and PC Gamer reported it has already seen some of them, showing actors on a stage with sets and a blue screen for CG compositing. The game's Steam store page describes it as rewriting the story of human history from scratch, guiding people from ancient times to the modern era. The sequel introduces improvements over its predecessor, including a new growth system and evolved visuals and UI. Climate change alters biomes and strategic maps, requiring players to adapt cities and economies to shifting environments. The original HUMANKIND is currently on sale on Steam at 90% off, priced at 559 yen including tax.
AMPLITUDE Studios built the HUMANKIND 2 reveal around a live-action trailer that opens from the perspective of a newborn baby and moves through prehistoric times, Viking voyages, plague outbreaks, and the space age. The developer responded to social media questions about whether the footage was AI-generated by confirming the shoot, and pinned the same explanation in the comments section of the trailer on YouTube.
- The game is the direct sequel to HUMANKIND, released in August 2021, and the trailer opens with ancient Egypt and Vikings before shifting to a modern operating room.
- The original HUMANKIND lets players rewrite humanity's history across 60 eras, from ancient Egypt to the modern era, with each era's culture adding new gameplay layers.
- Victory in the predecessor is built on Fame, accumulated through achievements, moral choices, and battle results, and that system carries forward as a core element.
- Players guide historical figures, create historic works, and face historical events, while combat demands tactical use of terrain and city building alongside trade and diplomacy.
- Climate change alters biomes and strategic maps, so players must protect vital resources and make choices that consider impacts generations ahead.
The trailer shoot took place at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, with a blue screen used for CG compositing, according to PC Gamer, which has already seen behind-the-scenes photos the studio plans to release.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.