Sid Meier's Pirates comes to Sid Meier's Civilization 6 in a free update next week

Before Sid Meier brought 4X strategy to the masses with Civilization, he brought high-seas swashbuckling to the Commode 64 with Pirates!, an action-oriented sim set in and immediately after the Golden Age of Piracy. (It was also the very first game to have the now-ubiquitous "Sid Meier's" in its title.) Next week Firaxis will try to mix the two up a little bit with the addition of a new "Pirate Scenario" coming in the next update to Civilization 6.

The new scenario supports 1-4 players, who will undertake a quest for treasure and glory under the flag of one of four factions—Dread Pirate, Privateer, Swashbuckler, or Hoarder, each with their own unique abilities. Other pirates won't be the only problem you'll face on your adventures though, as the British, Spanish, French, and Dutch navies will also be prowling the waves and looking to make life difficult. 

The scenario will feature new and updated art, and a new map designed specifically for the mode, although you can opt to take your chances with a randomized map if you prefer. More information on the new Pirates Scenario will be released ahead of its debut. 

The update will also make a number of adjustments to the base game: Full details will be revealed in the patch notes, which will be released when the update goes live on October 22, but publisher 2K Games said it will include changes to the Recruit Partisans espionage missions, scaling game speed to features that didn’t have them, and balance tweaks to the first two New Frontier Pass DLC packs.