ANNO 117: A trailer of epic dimensions
Context
Six years after the previous installment, Ubisoft is launching Anno 117: Pax Romana. The eighth title in its globally acclaimed city-building and strategy franchise developed by Ubisoft Mainz. Set during the height of the Roman Empire, the game invites players to take on the role of Governor. For this highly anticipated release, Ubisoft partnered with us to design and produce the official launch trailer.
Challenge
Long awaited by the Anno community, this new chapter transports the franchise to Ancient Rome for the first time, while aiming to reach a broader audience. Our challenge was twofold: to capture the diversity of Anno 117’s gameplay, from intricate city-building to economic management and military expansion, while making the world approachable and engaging for newcomers.
Our Approach
The film draws inspiration from the visual codes of Roman epic films - timeless symbols of cinematic spectacle. Setting its story in a monumental chamber where four Governors- representing different player archetypes - engage in a passionate debate over the future of their empire.
The film’s concept centers on a single actor who portrays five roles — four Governors and one player - embodying the different ways to experience the game: whether focused on visuals, the economy, the military, or simply the pure joy of playing. The transformation was achieved through a thoughtfully designed range of costumes, hairstyles, and dialogue, enhanced with the help of a green screen and integrated into a monumental 3D recreation of a Roman palace.
Diverging visions collide in a theatrical debate, before the player regains control and delivers the final line: “Build Your Roman Empire”.
By blending live-action and gameplay footage, the trailer conveys both cinematic emotion and a true feel for what it’s like to play Anno 117. In addition to the full-length, two-minute version, the launch campaign includes a 30-second pre-roll and several 15-second cutdowns, each centered on a distinct Governor to engage different audiences.
"Anno 117 is the most ambitious entry in the Anno series to date, immersing players in one of its most exciting settings: the Roman Empire. For the game’s launch, we wanted a special film that fully embraces this central theme and, more importantly, the many facets and roles that players can embody as masterminds and strategists. We needed best-in-class partners to deliver on this vision and to capture the distinctive tone of voice Anno 117 brings to the series. We could not be prouder of the work done by our partners: Biborg, Mathematic & KWM who truly succeeded in bringing this vision to life. We hope players are as excited as we are to embark on a new journey into the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana" said Lionel Hiller, VP, Executive Publisher at Ubisoft
An important aspect of this project was to transform our actor into five distinct characters who had to be similar but sufficiently distinguishable.
This distinction was made possible thanks to his acting talents, but also thanks to the characterisation carried out through dialogue, costumes, make-up and hairstyles. All this preparation made the dialogues between the characters believable.
For this shooting with epic ambitions, we surrounded ourselves with high-quality partners, including Mathematic, renowned for the quality of their productions, and KWM, who produced the gameplay footage.
