Civilization: Beyond Earth free on Steam this weekend, expansion drops October 9

The Rising Tide expansion is set to release on October 9.

Any newcomers to Beyond Earth will have until August 17th at 10am Pacific to download and play the game, and if you buy on Steam this weekend, the game is half price at $19.99.

More importantly, if you want to jump into this, now might be the right time, because a free-to-play weekend for the game is starting. Which in the case of Civilization means “the entire weekend”.

Civilization: Beyond Earth is designed as a spiritual successor to the classic Alpha Centauri, and it will be interesting to see if Rising Tide manages to deliver a boost in quality.

If you are not familiar with Sid Meier, he had done a lot of strategy and simulation video games throughout the decades. The Civilization series allows the player to build their own pre-historical civilization and essentially become a great leader of history. It features a space fleet-based exploration of a larger galaxy.

2K and Firaxis Game have announced that those who pre-purchase Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide will receive a 10% discount on this expansion.