Choice of History is a deep historical sim where you rule as one of 556 real sovereigns across China, Rome, Britain, America, and Russia. Make monthly decisions through 16,000+ events, climb a 1,158-node tech tree, and balance rival factions. Your choices echo through history—no right answer.

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Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“The game is already fully playable. We just need to add more languages, expand it with large batches of events and emperor updates, and we welcome more feedback.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Roughly until the first quarter of next year.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The full version may add more playable heads of state, potentially bringing the number of playable rulers to 800+.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game has completed its alpha phase and entered comprehensive testing (Beta). It already offers a complete core gameplay loop: 556 real monarchs (across five civilizations — ancient China, Rome, Britain, America, and Russia), more than 16,000 historical events, a 1,158-node technology tree, four-way faction politics, five-dimension historical appraisal, and branching narrative driven by flags and causal gating — plus a narrative memory layer and vernacular mode, with multi-language interface support. You can also bring your own AI API key so a large language model dynamically generates memorials, imperial edicts, and event dialogue for a more immersive experience. Even without AI, offline mode lets you experience all the built-in historical content and core gameplay in full. Our current focus is on adding more languages, rolling out large event/emperor updates, and continuously polishing balance and numbers based on player feedback.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“No.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“The community has a decisive influence on the game's direction. I will read every single Steam review — positive or negative — one by one. Your suggestions directly shape the priority of our next iterations: which language to add next, which batch of events and playable emperors to release, and which balance adjustments to pursue, always weighing the community's loudest requests first. You're also welcome to reach out through the Steam Community Hub and official discussion boards (and future channels like Discord). In Early Access, player feedback is the most precious asset — I'll keep turning your opinions into version updates, letting Choice of History gradually grow into the game players truly want.”
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About This Game

You sit upon the Dragon Throne. Memorials pile high upon your desk; urgent dispatches from the frontier and the undercurrents of the court close in at once. A single decision may buy a decade of peace—or ignite the flames of a dynasty's fall.

Choice of History is a deeply strategic historical simulation built around the core of imperial decision-making. From across millennia and five civilizations—China, Rome, Britain, America, and Russia—you shall choose one of **555 real sovereigns** to ascend the throne, holding the rise and fall of a nation in your hands. At every turning point of history, you make the choice that is yours alone—history will not make the move for you. It only sets the throne in place, then watches in silence as you play.

  • Core Gameplay: Place Your Stone at Every Crossroads

The game is built on a turn-based simulation advancing by year and month. You will again and again face documented historical events: a sudden flood, a frontier rebellion, a remonstrance from a scholar-official, a succession dispute within the inner palace. Each event offers multiple branches of choice, and your decision rewrites faction relations, the treasury's balance, and the hearts of the realm—in real time.

There is no "right answer" here, only cost and trade-off. Cutting taxes wins the people's favor for a season, yet empties the coffers; elevating a worthy hermit may rally public opinion, yet provoke the hereditary clan. Every move you make reshapes the course of the dynasty.

  • World & Narrative: Written Within the Very Fabric of History

We have built exhaustive data and event libraries for **326 Chinese sovereigns** and **229 rulers and chieftains of the world** (civilizations such as Rome, Britain, America, and Russia), and authored fully fleshed-out scenario scripts for core monarchs—such as the complete narrative arc of the eighteen "Class-A" emperors. From the chronicle sketches of the Three Dynasties, through the fiscal maneuvering of a dynasty's zenith, to the storms of its twilight, the game rests upon rigorous historical scrutiny, so that every reign stands on solid ground.

Narrative is not a linear lecture. Events are driven by a three-engine core of "branches + faction relations + flags": your choices leave behind narrative flags, and **causal gating** decides whether later scenes may be triggered—foreshadowing planted years before echoes, converges, or recoils upon you in time. We have recently added a narrative memory layer (letting events across reigns echo one another) and a **vernacular mode** (lowering the barrier to reading), so that what you write becomes a self-consistent national history, unique to you as its sovereign.

  • Systemic Depth: Three Pillars Upholding the Strategic Dimension

① The Tech Tree—1158 Nodes of Civilizational Evolution Ten great branches (agriculture, military industry, construction, commerce, culture, medicine, astronomy and mathematics, law and rites, natural philosophy, and even a "cultivation" fantasy line) form 1158 tech nodes. Research must climb the ladder of eras and is bound by prerequisite dependencies; breakthroughs you develop yourself translate into real returns—battlefield odds, livelihood gains, event mitigations—making "researching tech" a disciplined long-term investment rather than mere number-padding. Technology also gradually **lifts the five-dimensional fog**, laying bare the hidden frailties of state power upon your desk.

② Factional Struggle and the Five-Dimensional Verdict The four powers—imperial clan, scholar-officials, border generals, and merchants—ebb and flow under your rule (−100~100), and each civilization carries its own factional setup (Rome's Senate and legions, Britain's Crown and gentry, and so on). Yet a reign's merits and faults are ultimately judged by the historiographers across five dimensions—treasury, popular will, military strength, court, and livelihood. There is no single victory condition—only the hue you leave for the ages.

③ Flags and Causal Gating The echo of your choices is more than numbers: flags truly **gate** what comes after. A clemency you granted in your youth may, decades later, ward off a coup; a broken oath plants the fuse of retribution within the annals. This layer elevates "branching narrative" into a strategic system with memory and consequence, so that every replay leads to a starkly different destiny.

  • Scope: A Historical Sandbox You Can Conquer Again and Again

556 playable sovereigns: from Chinese emperors to the world's rulers of Rome, Britain, America, and Russia—each with independent attributes and opening situations.

Over 10,000 historical events: spanning floods, rebellions, factional strife, succession, diplomacy, and other real historical scenes, varying with sovereign and era.

An unbroken span of ages: from early states to the early modern world, tech and events unlock by era—every new game is a fresh context.

Vast playtime: a single run can span decades of rule; with free exploration and multiple playthroughs, playtime reaches into the hundreds of hours.

Modes and freedom: free decision-making, signature paths, and the cultivation fantasy line coexist; the same sovereign in different hands can walk starkly opposite histories.

  • Unique Selling Points

Truth as the backbone: historical scrutiny + dual-source data auditing make the simulation hold up to scrutiny.

East meets West on one board: few works place Chinese and world sovereigns—Rome, Britain, America, Russia—into the same comparable ruleset to contend.

Tech × Faction × Flag narrative: decisions have depth, causes have echoes, and the strategic dimensions interlock layer by layer.

Self-consistent narrative: flag-driven plotting gives every choice a lasting echo, not a one-off firework.

  • On AI: Bring Your Own API for the Best Experience

Choice of History has a built-in AI-enhanced narrative mode, where a large mode can dynamically generate more immersive memorials, edicts, and event dialogue. For the most immersive experience, we strongly recommend you bring your own AI API key—you control your key and your quota; the game merely hands the historical stage to you and the model to perform together. In offline mode, you can still experience the full breadth of built-in historical content and core gameplay.

The moment has come—it is your turn!

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

AI assistance was used in the development of this game. Players are strongly advised to play using mainstream free "flash" AI APIs such as Agnes API or Qwen API — simply fill in your API information in the game settings. For the sake of speed, enabling thinking mode is not recommended. This game contains optional generative AI features. In “AI-Enhanced Narrative Mode”, the game calls the third-party LLM API you provide yourself, generating more immersive event text in real time as you play. This mode is entirely optional: even without connecting any API, you can still fully experience all of the built-in, human-written historical content and the core gameplay. The game will not use your gameplay data to train any models. All AI-generated content is controlled by your own API key and quota, and you are responsible for your own usage.

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 support DirectX 11
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Not required
    • VR Support: None
    • Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit operating system
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 11 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3 or higher
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 or higher (supports DirectX 11)
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 8 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Not required
    • VR Support: None
    • Additional Notes: Personal AI API recommended
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 20.04 / SteamOS 3 (64-bit)
    • Processor: Any x86_64 dual-core processor
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 or equivalent integrated GPU (supports OpenGL 3.3 / DX11)
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Not required
    • VR Support: None
    • Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit operating system
    Recommended:
    • OS: Ubuntu 22.04 or later / SteamOS 3.5+
    • Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3 or higher
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Vulkan 1.0 compatible or higher
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 8 GB available space
    • Sound Card: Not required
    • VR Support: None
    • Additional Notes: Personal AI API recommended
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