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| Pioneers of Pagonia spent nearly two years in active development. Pictured - an official screenshot from the game showing a settlement with water bodies, trees, and crops. |
After a successful two-year journey through Early Access, the spiritual successor to a beloved classic invites players to trade, explore, and build without the pressure of war.
For fans of thoughtful strategy and intricate logistics, December 11, 2025, marked a significant moment: Pioneers of Pagonia, the highly anticipated city-builder from industry veteran Volker Wertich, officially launched its full 1.0 version. Leaving its Steam Early Access cradle after nearly two years of community-driven development, the game has emerged not as a war-focused empire builder, but as a cozy, logistics-centric experience about reuniting a fractured, fog-shrouded world.
Developed by Envision Entertainment under Wertich’s creative direction—the mind behind the iconic The Settlers series—Pioneers of Pagonia positions itself as a spiritual successor to that style of transport-chain city builders. The launch culminates a flexible development process where the team, avoiding a rigid multi-year plan, worked in six to nine-month roadmaps to actively incorporate player feedback. As CEO Dirk Ringe noted, many changes were implemented "solely because of community feedback," shaping the game into its polished final form.
A World Built on Connection, Not Conquest
The core fantasy of Pioneers of Pagonia is one of restoration. Players take on the role of a navigator leading their people across countless procedurally generated islands in a world devoured by a mysterious fog. The goal is not to conquer but to reconnect scattered tribes, establish thriving trade networks, and push back the wilderness.
- Visible, Living Logistics: The game's heart is its intricate, fully simulated economy. With over 60 building types and more than 100 commodities, every production step is physically visible. Carriers traverse your road networks, hauling logs from foresters to sawmills, delivering bread from bakeries to houses, and creating delightful miniature traffic jams. This "Wuselfaktor"—a German term for bustling activity emblematic of Wertich's earlier work—brings your settlement to life.
- A Truly Peaceful Option: While bandits, scavengers, and mythical creatures like werewolves and spectres lurk in the fog, combat is entirely optional. Players can toggle enemies off completely, transforming the experience into a purely peaceful settlement builder focused on economic mastery and exploration. Reviewers have consistently highlighted this relaxed, "cozy" pace as a defining feature.
- The Heart of 1.0: The Story Campaign: The flagship addition of the 1.0 launch is a full seven-chapter story campaign, estimated to offer around 30 hours of content. Crafted with the help of German fantasy author Janika Hoffmann, the campaign doubles as an extended, natural-feeling tutorial. As CGMagazine's review noted, "This was the first time in a city-builder where I didn't spend the first several hours trying to recall what it taught me in the first 10 minutes".
Endless Possibilities in the Sandbox
Beyond the campaign, Pioneers of Pagonia offers staggering depth in its freeform sandbox mode. Players have near-total control over their experience:
- Customizable Maps: Choose from nine island biomes—from lush forests to steep mountains—each affecting resource availability and terrain challenges.
- Adjustable Rules: Toggle combat, objectives, or both. Set difficulty, adjust map size, and even change the time-of-day lighting.
- Community & Co-op: The integrated Pagonia Editor allows for creating and sharing custom maps. Furthermore, a shared co-operative mode lets up to four friends build a single settlement together, with all players able to construct and manage resources simultaneously.
Launch Reception and Player Feedback
At launch, the game holds a "Mostly Positive" aggregate rating from several thousand reviews on Steam. Critics have responded warmly, with scores clustering in the low-to-mid 80s. Eurogamer Germany awarded it an 80/100, praising its "pleasant, relaxing experience," while other outlets have commended its naturalistic city layouts and depth.
The Steam community reviews offer a nuanced picture. Many players express joy at rediscovering the classic Settlers feeling, praising the deep economic simulation and charming art style. "I feel young again! Missed such 'Settlers' for a long long time! Love it!" writes one player.
However, some criticisms have emerged, primarily concerning the learning curve and interface. Several players note that managing the flow of goods can feel overly complex or micro-intensive, especially when critical resources are scarce. One review stated, "The UI feels extremely overloaded, and managing the flow of goods comes across as needlessly complicated". Others have reported bugs in the new campaign and expressed a desire for more direct military unit controls.
As one player aptly summarized, "I want to love this game... I'll keep an eye on it and will definitely come back once the bug density has thinned out a bit". For the most current player opinions, you can browse the live Steam reviews here.
System Requirements, Pricing, and Future
Pioneers of Pagonia is a premium PC title available exclusively on Steam. For its launch week, the game is offered with a time-limited discount of approximately 30% off its standard price. The developers have evaluated other platforms but confirm there is no console version at launch and no firm dates for future ports.
Minimum System Requirements:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor: Quad Core
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Mobile / AMD Radeon RX 470
Note: The game does not support Intel Integrated Graphics (UHD, Iris Xe).
The journey for Pioneers of Pagonia is far from over. The developers at Envision Entertainment have demonstrated a committed, player-focused approach throughout Early Access. With a robust foundation, a passionate community, and the promise of continued support, this cozy logistics simulator aims to be a destination for city-building fans for years to come. For those interested in deep-dive statistics like concurrent player counts and historical pricing, resources like SteamDB provide valuable data.
Whether you're a veteran of The Settlers looking for a nostalgic yet fresh experience or a new player seeking a strategic game where the primary conflict is against supply chain inefficiency, Pioneers of Pagonia offers a uniquely peaceful and deeply engaging world to build within.