Amplitude Studios set their sights high with Humankind, a turn-based strategy game that lets you rewrite the course of human history. From the dawn of civilization to the modern age, you’ll guide your people across millennia—shaping culture, expanding your empire, and competing for the ultimate prize: Fame.
One of the game’s most distinctive features is the ability to switch cultures as you move through eras. Each new era offers fresh strategic possibilities, letting you build a civilization that’s uniquely yours, piece by piece.
With a growing roster of cultures to choose from and new expansions adding even more depth, here’s a full breakdown of how cultures work in Humankind, and a look at every culture available so far.
Humankind Culture Gameplay Effects
When you enter a new era in Humankind, you’ll get to select a new culture – each with its own distinct trait that shapes your playstyle. These traits only apply while you’re actively playing as that culture, and they’ll be replaced when you select a new one. But don’t worry – your choices still have lasting effects.
Every Humankind culture comes with one of the following affinities:
- Aesthete – Focuses on earning Influence.
- Agrarian – Focuses on increasing population and growing food.
- Builder – Focuses on building and industry.
- Diplomatic – Focuses on diplomacy and collecting Leverage. (New affinity introduced in the “Together We Rule” expansion.)
- Expansionist – Focuses on expanding territory.
- Merchant – Focuses on generating money.
- Militarist – Focuses on building up, and using, a large army.
- Scientist – Focuses on generating Science and unlocking new technologies.
In addition to these traits, each culture includes a unique Emblematic Unit and a constructible Emblematic Quarter. These are exclusive to the culture you’re playing at the time, but once they’re built, they’ll remain in play even after you’ve moved on to a new culture.
Crucially, each culture also provides a Legacy Trait, which continues to affect your empire after you switch cultures. So even though your affinity changes from era to era, your Legacy Traits stack—shaping your civilization’s long-term identity. This makes your cultural choices in every era especially important.
At the end of every era, you’ll have a choice: adopt a new culture with fresh traits or transcend, sticking with your current culture and earning a Fame boost instead. The adopted route means new abilities, units, and districts – but the transcend option gives you the chance to double down on your existing strengths.
Humankind Culture List
With the game expanding over time, Humankind now features 79 cultures across the eras (up from the original 60), with more added through DLC and updates. Here’s a look at the cultures confirmed so far, including the base game and additional content:
Neolithic Era
- Nomadic Tribe
Ancient Era
- Assyrians – Expansionist
- Babylonians – Scientist
- Egyptians – Builder
- Harappans – Agrarian
- Hittites – Militarist
- Mycenaeans – Militarist
- Nubians – Merchant
- Olmecs – Aesthete
- Phoenicians – Merchant
- Zhou – Aesthete
Classical Era
- Achaemenid Persians – Expansionist
- Aksumites – Merchant
- Carthaginians – Merchant
- Celts – Agrarian
- Goths – Militarist
- Greeks – Scientist
- Huns – Militarist
- Mauryans – Aesthete
- Maya – Builder
- Romans – Expansionist
Medieval Era
- Aztecs – Militarist
- Byzantines – Merchant
- English – Agrarian
- Franks – Aesthete
- Ghanaians – Merchant
- Khmer – Builder
- Mongols – Militarist
- Norsemen – Militarist
- Teutons – Expansionist
- Umayyads – Scientist
Early Modern Era
- Dutch – Merchant
- Edo Japanese – Aesthete
- Haudenosaunee – Agrarian
- Joseon – Scientist
- Ming – Aesthete
- Mughals – Builder
- Ottomans – Expansionist
- Poles – Militarist
- Spanish – Expansionist
- Venetians – Merchant
Industrial Era
- Austro-Hungarians – Aesthete
- British – Expansionist
- French – Scientist
- Germans – Militarist
- Italians – Aesthete
- Mexicans – Agrarian
- Persians – Builder
- Russians – Expansionist
- Siamese – Builder
- Zulu – Militarist
Several expansions like Together We Rule and Cultures of Africa, Cultures of Latin America, and Cultures of Oceania have introduced new playable cultures and mechanics, such as the Diplomatic affinity.
With so many cultures to choose from – and each playing in a unique way – you’ll have a tonne of decisions to make throughout your journey in Humankind. Whether you go full militarist, embrace scientific enlightenment, or sway the world through influence and diplomacy, every era is a chance to reinvent your empire.
