Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, the latest expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Civilization IV series, will be available in July 2007.

Developed for the PC by the Company's world-renowned development studio Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword ushers in the largest amount of expansion content in the history of the Civilization franchise.

Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV. The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder and will deliver 12 challenging and decidedly different scenarios created by the development team at Firaxis Games, as well as members of the Civilization fan community.

Beyond the Sword will also include ten new civilisations, 16 new leaders, five new wonders, and a variety of new units.

“Civilization IV has been an overwhelming critical and commercial success, so it makes sense for Firaxis Games to create the biggest, most ambitious expansion pack for one of the deepest PC games ever created,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword delivers more scenarios, civilizations, units, concepts, leaders and a host of other features.”

“Civilization is close to our hearts here at Firaxis and we’re excited to up the ante on the series once again with what we consider to be our best expansion pack ever,” said Steve Martin, president of Firaxis Games. “Fan requests and a constant stream of new ideas motivate our team to continue delivering more and better gameplay for our premier series. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is a must-have expansion for every Civ fan.”

Key features include:

* Expanded Epic Game: Firaxis Games delivers a massive increase in new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with additional focus on the late-game time periods.
* New Game Scenarios: The expansion will deliver 12 new scenarios, many containing themes never before included in the Civilization series, custom designed by the team at Firaxis and select members of the Civ Fan Community.
* New Civilisations: The expansion pack includes ten new civilisations, such as Portugal, Babylon and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings.
* More Civilization Leaders: Sixteen new leaders including leaders for the ten new civilisations, as well as additional leaders for existing civilisations.
* Corporations: A new gameplay feature that allows players to create corporations and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources.
* Espionage: Now available much earlier in the game, this expanded feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend their government’s secrets.
* Events: New random events such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens will challenge players to overcome obstacles in order for their civilisations to prosper.
* New Wonders: Five new wonders await discovery including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues.
* Expanded Space Victory: Winning the race to Alpha Centauri will now require more strategic planning and tactical decision making.
* Apostolic Palace: The United Nations will become available earlier in the game, providing a way for players to win a diplomatic victory earlier. New resolutions will also be added which will expand the available diplomatic options.
* Advanced Starts: A major fan request, this new feature will enable players to “buy” components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing them to experience many of the new features of the expansion pack in a shorter amount of time.
* Enhanced AI: The AI has received many enhancements, making it tougher to beat on the higher difficulty levels. The ways in which the AI will attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded.

For more information, visit civilization.com.