For the first time in series history, Australia is going to be a playable faction in a Civilization game. You bloody ripper.
I know, Australia isn’t really a Civilization, but if other “new world” countries like the USA and Brazil can get in the game then damn it, we can too.
Sorry Canada. Maybe you’re next.
Australia’s military unit (the “Digger”) and building (“Outback Station”) are predictable enough, but the choice of John Curtin as leader is a great one; Sir Robert Menzies may have been a more obvious choice, since Curtin was only Prime Minister for four years (1941-45), but in that time he not only led Australia through the Second World War but also enacted a number of progressive social policies.
Like Poland, Australia is going to be made available as part of a premium DLC pack, which is going to hit around the same time as the “Australian Summer 2017 Update”. This update will be a big deal, because it’ll finally introduce Steam Workshop functionality to the game, along with team multiplayer.
There’s no release date for either Australia or the update, but given its name, and the fact there’s only a week left in the Southern Hemisphere’s Summer, it’ll hopefully be soon.