Meier: Civilization will come to PC as long as fans want it

Sid Meier's less hands-on role with Civilization V and the development of Civilization World doesn't mean he and Firaxis are stepping away from core Civ experiences.

"Civilization has its roots in PC gaming and we intend to continue to deliver games for that platform as long as fans keep asking for them," Meier told IGN.

"There are now Civilization games on PC, consoles, mobile devices and Facebook, so we're not limiting our options on where Civ can be enjoyed."

The legendary designer believes "all kinds of games and gamers can happily co-exist", and said Firaxis is well-positioned to work on more than just Civilization World.

"We have the bandwidth and versatility to do several projects on multiple platforms very well due to the quality and talent of the folks at Firaxis. We will continue to focus on developing great games for the consoles and PC," he said.

Making several references to the "emrgent" and "unique social nature" of Facebook, Meier commented that Civilization World's multiplayer focus is going down a treat.

"One thing we found was that once you could show a player the fun they could have collaborating with their friends as part of a nation, they quickly became deeply involved in the game," he said.

"We're able to do things we've never done before and really focus on the social aspect of gameplay."

Civilization has never before been about geting on with your neighbours, but Merie says so far, testers are playing nice.

"Throughout the closed beta we've found that players have the most fun working with each other to defeat the other Civs, and see the benefits of sharing resources and strategies to help their Civ become stronger," he said.

Civilization World is currently in open beta on Facebook.