SimCity 5 Confirmed For 2013

Time to reticulate some splines: SimCity 5 has been confirmed, with EA and Maxis announcing today that the much-anticipated title will arrive sometime in 2013.  Powered by Maxis' own proprietary GlassBox Engine, the game promises hitherto-unseen degrees of detail and minutiae, along with more social integration that means decisions one player makes about his city will impact on the running of his friends' elsewhere in the virtual world.

"Together, players will address real global challenges such as climate change, the search for renewable resources and natural disasters" Maxis says of the new functionality. "It's up to the players to decide whether to compete or collaborate to shape the world of tomorrow – for better or for worse."

Although previous iterations of the game ramped up the amount of individual autonomy elements of the city and its inhabitants could have, SimCity 5 looks likely to blow them out of the virtual water. Each Sim character will be able to have a job – or be fired from it – and either contribute to the city's economy or be a drain on it. Maxis unsurprisingly isn't spilling too many details on gameplay yet, though.

It'll be around ten years in-between SimCity 4's release and this new SimCity 5, so we can forgive gamers for getting excited. Expect it to hit PCs sometime in 2013.