Anno 1800

Anno 1800, released 16 April 2019, sent Ubisoft Blue Byte's long-running city-builder series to the Industrial Revolution, and more than five years of sustained content support later, the review sample credits it as a genuine high point for the genre. Very Positive across more than 32,000 Steam reviews, that reception sits alongside a real, severe, and — this review can confirm — still-current complaint about the game's mandatory third-party launcher, worth understanding in full before buying.

A genuine, widely credited genre highlight

The review sample's praise for Anno 1800 is specific and consistent rather than generic city-builder enthusiasm. "This is one of the most beautiful games I've played. It is sheer joy visually and I recommend zooming in to look at the detail as you expand your cities," one detailed review states, describing genuine artistic craft in the game's visual design. Another captures the game's addictive pull directly: "The game is great. It is the kind of game where I will sit down to play for a bit while I finish my coffee in the morning and then close it frantically when I realize it is dark outside again." The underlying supply-chain economy draws its own sustained, specific credit, with reviewers describing genuine strategic depth in managing production chains across multiple regions rather than simple aesthetic city-planning.

A real, severe, still-current launcher complaint

What tempers that acclaim is a real, remarkably consistent and severe complaint this review can confirm recurs with genuine specificity throughout the sample. "Imagine buying a game, then going to try and play said game only to have the game not launch because the game's 'Launcher'... fails to prove you own the game," one widely-endorsed review states, describing a specific, reproducible failure. A more detailed account describes the full sequence: "Sign in to Ubisoft Connect with the ONLY Ubisoft account I've ever created. Ubisoft Connect asks for an authentication code that isn't provided with the game." Several reviews describe consequences far more severe than simple inconvenience: "I had an email deactivated, so I couldn't get into my account, and Ubisoft wouldn't even attempt to verify my identity, so I've lost access to the game," one states, while another, dated as recently as 27 June 2026, describes an even sharper escalation: "Refuses my password and locks me out of my purchased game... Now it doesn't recognise the game key and has effectively blocked me from my own game." A further review describes losing access to a game with 566 hours of recorded playtime after Ubisoft "force[d] their launcher into the game," rendering a purchase the reviewer paid nearly $100 for completely unusable. This review found no developer communication addressing this specific access problem, though it can report a real, community-discovered workaround several reviewers confirm works: "just blacklist the Ubisoft Launcher exes... in your firewall and the game just skips the launcher, no ubisoft account required."

Real, separate complaints about DLC pricing and design direction

A related, more practical complaint concerns Anno 1800's DLC structure. "Only downside is it's Ubisoft and there's somehow $400 in DLC," one review states, a specific figure echoed by others describing the base game as good value but the full DLC collection as excessive. A more detailed, specific complaint from a longtime series fan concerns design direction rather than access: describing earlier Anno entries like 1701 and 1404 as having established the series around "diplomacy, (economic) warfare, espionage" in ways the reviewer feels 1800 moved away from, a specific, comparative critique distinct from the launcher complaints dominating the rest of the sample.

Where this leaves a buyer

At NZ$99.99, Anno 1800 delivers a genuinely exceptional, visually distinguished city-builder this review's sample credits consistently and specifically, backed by more than five years of substantial content investment from Ubisoft Blue Byte through the game's December 2024 "End of an Era" finale. The honest, necessary context concerns a real, severe, and — as of reviews dated into mid-2026 — still-current risk that Ubisoft Connect's mandatory account system can lock legitimate purchasers out of the game entirely, sometimes for extended periods and without adequate support resolution. Players comfortable managing a Ubisoft Connect account, or willing to use the community-documented firewall workaround, are very likely to find one of the genre's genuine highlights here. Players who specifically want a purchase they can rely on launching without third-party account risk should weigh this review's documented, still-current access complaints seriously before buying.