Pioneers of Pagonia officially launched version 1.0 on December 11, 2025, ending nearly two years of Early Access development with a complete package that includes a 30-hour story campaign playable solo or with up to four friends. Developer Envision Entertainment, led by The Settlers creator Volker Wertich, delivered on every promise made during the game’s development journey, creating a medieval fantasy city builder that emphasizes exploration, cooperation, and watching thousands of tiny citizens bustle around executing your orders.
The full release represents a triumphant comeback for Wertich, who left Ubisoft mid-development on The Settlers reboot after creative differences changed the project’s direction entirely. With Pioneers of Pagonia, he got to make decisions without publisher interference, creating the deep economic simulation and detailed production chains that defined his best work. The result is a game with that magical “wuselfaktor” – a German word describing how satisfyingly busy and alive a city builder feels when thousands of units scurry around simultaneously.
From Early Access to Full Release
Pioneers of Pagonia entered Early Access on December 13, 2023, with core gameplay systems functional but incomplete. Over the following two years, Envision Entertainment released major updates every few months, each expanding the game significantly. The Mining Update added subsurface mining and the Scav enemy faction. The Magic Update introduced the arcane economy with sorceresses, warlocks, and monument abilities. The Winter Update brought the first narrative tutorial map and arcane artifacts.
The final version includes over 60 buildings, more than 100 different goods, and intricate production chains where every step is visually represented. You watch farmers harvest grain, see that grain transported to mills where it becomes flour, then follow the flour to bakers who create bread that provisioners serve in taverns. Nothing happens behind the scenes. Every economic process plays out through animated units carrying goods between buildings, which makes identifying bottlenecks intuitive and satisfying to optimize.
Procedurally generated maps ensure endless variety. Each island features different terrain distributions, resource allocations, and faction placements. You can customize difficulty by adjusting enemy density, neutral faction numbers, and terrain complexity. Want a peaceful building experience with no combat? Generate a map without enemies and focus entirely on economic optimization. Prefer challenging survival gameplay? Increase hostile factions and watch as bandits, scavengers, and mythical creatures threaten your settlement.
The Campaign That Took Two Years
The biggest addition in version 1.0 is the story campaign, which Envision Entertainment promised from the beginning but saved for the full release. Spanning roughly 30 hours across three difficulty levels, the campaign tells the story of pioneers rebuilding hope in a world consumed by mysterious fog. Players lead their people across the isles of Pagonia, unite scattered tribes, and discover the history of their civilization while reclaiming land from the mist.
The campaign includes exclusive features not available in sandbox mode. Boss encounters called “The Hollowed” emerge from the fog itself, requiring strategic preparation to defeat. Unique landscape obstacles force creative problem-solving. Special locations hide powerful artifacts. Story characters provide context and objectives that guide progression while maintaining the game’s core focus on settlement building and economic management.
Story Mode for Casual Players
Recognizing that not everyone wants military challenges interrupting their city building experience, Envision Entertainment included a “Story Mode” difficulty option. This setting lets players experience the full narrative without worrying about combat encounters. It’s a smart concession that welcomes players who love building intricate production chains but find real-time defense stressful. The three difficulty levels – Story, Average, and Hard – ensure the campaign accommodates different skill levels and playstyles.
Campaign missions feature unique objectives that teach advanced mechanics while pushing players to experiment with different strategies. You’ll learn when to prioritize military production versus economic expansion, how to optimize trade with neutral factions, and which artifacts provide the biggest advantages for specific challenges. Completing the campaign on Hard difficulty unlocks a special achievement, giving completionists something extra to pursue.
Shared Co-op Makes It Special
One feature that distinguishes Pioneers of Pagonia from most city builders is its shared cooperative multiplayer. Up to four players control one faction simultaneously with zero limitations. Anyone can place buildings, construct paths, issue commands, or change settings at any moment. This creates genuinely collaborative city building where friends divide responsibilities based on their interests and strengths.
The implementation is remarkably smooth. Multiplayer games can be saved and continued by any player in the team, not just the original host. If someone needs to leave, the remaining players continue seamlessly. The procedural generation works perfectly for co-op since you can adjust difficulty based on your group’s combined skill level. Playing the 30-hour campaign cooperatively with friends transforms it into a completely different experience compared to solo play.
Why Volker Wertich Left Ubisoft
Understanding Pioneers of Pagonia requires knowing the story behind why it exists. Volker Wertich created The Settlers in 1993 for Blue Byte, designing an RTS where players didn’t command units directly but instead gave orders indirectly by placing buildings. That innovative approach defined the city building genre for decades. After creating The Settlers 3 in 1998, Wertich left to found Phenomic, which developed SpellForce and other strategy titles before eventually being acquired by EA.
Years later, Wertich returned to work on The Settlers reboot at Ubisoft Blue Byte. But in 2020, he left mid-development after the project’s direction changed completely from his original vision. Rather than compromise, he founded Envision Entertainment with other industry veterans who shared his philosophy about deep economic simulation and self-explanatory game design. Pioneers of Pagonia became his chance to create the city builder he envisioned without publisher interference.
Community Response and Steam Achievements
The full release added Steam achievements for the first time, giving players concrete goals beyond simply building successful settlements. Achievements track campaign completion at different difficulties, merging with Pagonian villages, trading milestones, and exploration accomplishments. The community has responded enthusiastically, with many longtime Early Access supporters praising how much the game improved through continuous updates based on player feedback.
Envision Entertainment maintained active communication throughout development, posting detailed dev blogs explaining design decisions and showing building redesigns that improved visual clarity. That transparency built trust with the community and ensured feedback shaped development meaningfully. Players who bought into Early Access two years ago saw their suggestions implemented, creating genuine collaboration between developers and fans.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Pioneers of Pagonia fully release?
Pioneers of Pagonia version 1.0 launched on December 11, 2025, after nearly two years in Early Access. The game is available exclusively on PC via Steam.
Who created Pioneers of Pagonia?
Volker Wertich, the original creator of The Settlers series, leads development at Envision Entertainment. The team includes 20 developers with extensive strategy game experience, many of whom worked together previously at Phenomic Game Development.
How long is the campaign?
The story campaign offers approximately 30 hours of gameplay across three difficulty levels. It can be played solo or cooperatively with up to four players in shared co-op mode.
What makes the co-op mode special?
Unlike most city builders, Pioneers of Pagonia allows up to four players to control one faction simultaneously without limitations. All players can place buildings, issue commands, and change settings at the same time. Games can be saved and resumed by any team member.
Are there enemies in Pioneers of Pagonia?
Yes, hostile factions include plundering bandits, resource-competing scavengers, and mythical creatures like werewolves and ghosts. However, you can generate maps without enemies if you prefer peaceful building.
How does procedural generation work?
Each map is procedurally generated with customizable parameters including terrain distribution, resource allocation, enemy density, and neutral faction placement. This creates endless variety and replayability while maintaining designed quality through sophisticated rulesets.
Can I play Pioneers of Pagonia on consoles?
Currently, Pioneers of Pagonia is only available on PC through Steam. No console versions have been announced.
What is “wuselfaktor”?
Wuselfaktor is a German word describing how bustling and alive a city builder feels. Pioneers of Pagonia achieves high wuselfaktor by rendering thousands of individual units simultaneously, each performing specific tasks that are fully animated and visually comprehensible.
Conclusion
Pioneers of Pagonia represents vindication for Volker Wertich after leaving The Settlers reboot under disappointing circumstances. By founding Envision Entertainment and self-publishing this project, he created the city builder he always wanted to make without compromise. The two-year Early Access period allowed continuous refinement based on community feedback, resulting in a polished experience that honors the genre’s roots while introducing modern conveniences. With a substantial campaign, robust cooperative multiplayer, and procedural generation ensuring endless replayability, Pioneers of Pagonia delivers everything fans of deep economic simulation could want. For city builder enthusiasts tired of shallow mobile-style mechanics or combat-focused strategy games, this offers exactly what The Settlers fans have been missing for years. Wertich proved that given creative freedom and the right team, veteran developers can still create genre-defining experiences that respect player intelligence and reward careful planning.