The Settlers IV (German: Die Siedler IV), released as The Settlers: Fourth Edition in North America, is a 2001 real-time strategy video game with city-building elements for Windows, iOS, webOS, bada, Symbian, and Android. Developed by Blue Byte and published by Ubi Soft, the Windows version was released in Germany in February 2001, in the United Kingdom in March, and in North America in August. Also in August, Blue Byte released an expansion, The Settlers IV Mission CD, featuring new single-player campaign missions, new maps for both single-player and multiplayer modes, a random map generator and map editor, gameplay improvements, and bug fixes. In December, they released a second expansion, The Settlers IV: The Trojans and the Elixir of Power (German: Die Siedler IV: Die Trojaner und das Elixier der Macht), containing new single-player campaigns, additional single and multiplayer maps, improved graphics, and additional gameplay tweaks. In March 2002, The Settlers IV: Gold Edition was released, containing the original game and both expansions, plus fan-made maps for multiplayer mode, and two minigames. In November 2009, Gameloft ported the original game to iOS, under the title The Settlers. Although featuring updated graphics and utilising touch controls, the gameplay, game mechanics and storyline are identical to the original. In April 2010, The Settlers was released for webOS, specifically optimised for the Palm Pre. Gameloft later released HD versions for iPad, bada, Symbian and Android. In 2013, the Gold Edition was released on GOG.com. In 2018, the game was re-released as The Settlers IV: History Edition. it is the fourth game in The Settlers series, following The Settlers (1993), The Settlers II (1996) and The Settlers III (1998).
In the game's single-player campaign, the player controls three races (Romans, Vikings and Mayans) as they initially fight one another, before joining forces to combat the much greater threat posed to each of them by the exiled god Morbus, who has been banished to Earth after instigating a failed rebellion against the great god, HE. Unable to bear touching foliage, Morbus leads the mysterious Dark Tribe as he sets about attempting to erase all natural greenery from the planet's surface. The Trojans and the Elixir of Power takes place many centuries later, when the war against the Dark Tribe has faded from memory, and the three victorious civilisations have returned to fighting with one another. However, when Morbus once more proves a threat, attempting to permanently cure his allergy to greenery by creating a powerful elixir, it falls to the Trojans to unite the others and stand against him and the Dark Tribe.
Acting on feedback from fans who had felt Settlers III was too focused on combat, the designers aimed for a return to the core supply and demand-based gameplay of the first two titles in the series. As a result, the game was designed to strike a balance between economic planning and military conquest. Although the basic gameplay remains relatively unchanged from Settlers III, some of the game mechanics have been altered. For example, for the first time in the series, the offensive strength of the player's military is tied to the economic value of their settlement; the player has access to each rank of soldier from the beginning of each mission, with the ability to select the rank of every soldier prior to recruitment; the game's single-player campaign focuses on a race that cannot be defeated solely by military means; and specialty units and squad leaders have been added to enhance the tactical aspects of combat, with warships also made available, allowing for combat at sea.
