Humankind, Amplitude's historical 4X, now has a playable demo

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Assuming you're fine playing it through Stadia

(Image credit: Amplitude Studios)

Fancy having a bash at Humankind, Amplitude's ambitious contender to Sid Meier's Civilization? For the next week, you can, thanks to an Open Dev demo available through Google Stadia.

Coming from the folks behind Endless Legend and Endless Space, Humankind is a more direct challenger to Firaxis' hexagonal nation-builder—one that's more interested the process of building a culture, not the final destination. With preorders going up this month, Amplitude is offering a limited peek at Humankind with a new, limited demo.

Yes, OK, it's only playable through Stadia, but arriving via Google's maligned streaming service does have its perks. For one, you can play it right this second in your browser. After setting up a quick Stadia profile for free and watching a developer video, I was right in the thick of Humankind, ready to lay down the roots of my first city.

Unfortunately, the 1080p video stream looked naff on my 1440p monitor, with higher resolutions requiring a Stadia Pro subscription. To its credit, though, the game did run smoothly enough on my office internet, and I reckon you'd get away with using a Pro trial for the Humankind week if you so desired.

This Humankind trial lets you play through the first two eras, lasting roughly 100 turns. The first pits you as the Nubians to get things started, before opening up on a choice of ten cultures for your second era. You'll be free to plug in as much time as you wish until the demo closes next Wednesday, October 28th.

Humankind itself is expected to launch in April 2021 on Steam, Epic and Google Stadia for $50.99/€50.99/£40.79.

Natalie Clayton
Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.