The Settlers (1993 video game)
The Settlers is a city-building video game with real-time strategy elements, developed and published by Blue Byte Software. Released in Germany for Amiga in June 1993, and in the United Kingdom in November, it is the first game in The Settlers series. In 1994, Blue Byte and Massive Development ported the game to DOS. Blue Byte published the DOS version in Europe under its original title in May, but in North America, it was published in December by SSI as Serf City: Life is Feudal. In 2018, the game was re-released for Microsoft Windows as The Settlers: History Edition.
European cover art
Screenshot of The Settlers. The HUD shows part of the player's settlement, with the various buildings linked by roads. The roads are demarcated by waypoints (turquoise flags), which function as hubs for the distribution of goods, with a single settler operating between each flag.
The Settlers is a city-building and real-time strategy video game series created by Volker Wertich. The original game was released on the Amiga in 1993, with subsequent games released primarily on MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows: The Settlers II (1996), The Settlers III (1998), The Settlers IV (2001), The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (2004), The Settlers: Rise of an Empire (2007), and The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (2010). There are also several spin-offs; The Settlers II (2006) is a remake of The Settlers II, The Settlers DS (2007) is a port of The Settlers II for Nintendo DS, Die Siedler: Aufbruch der Kulturen (2008) is a German-only spiritual successor to 10th Anniversary, The Settlers HD (2009) is a handheld remake of The Settlers IV, and The Settlers Online (2010) is a free-to-play online browser game. With the exception of The Settlers HD, Ubisoft Blue Byte has developed every game in the series, as well as publishing the first three titles. From The Settlers IV onwards, Ubisoft has published all titles.
Screenshot of Paths to a Kingdom showing how the player can set up base buildings and work yards
Screenshot of Heritage of Kings showing the 3D graphics and redesigned HUD