We found out earlier about videogame legend Sid Meier's newfound love of consoles, and how there seemed to be a distinct possibility we'd see a Meier production on next-gen systems. We weren't sure what that project might be at the time, but now we know.

The series he is best known for, Civilization, is on its way to the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the form of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution. The popular PC franchise has managed to sell over 8 million copies worldwide, and Firaxis will be optimizing this strategy title for the home console.

The press release mentions the game's "renowned epic single-player campaigns" along with the well-known re-playability and "unmatched addictive gameplay." The game will provide real-time interaction with leaders and advisers, plus a bunch of new multiplayer capabilities and integrated video and voice chat. Revolution will include 16 different civilizations to master, plenty of famous (or infamous) historical leaders to play as or compete against, a "streamlined time scale" for faster games and constant action, and accessible maps.

Online, players will compete in teams, head-to-head, or epic free-for-all matches. And of course, as is customary now for next-gen consoles, the game will boast auto-matching, ranked matches, leaderboards, achievements, downloadable extra content, and the aforementioned video and voice chat. As they said in the release: "...it will completely transport the Civilization series to a level of gameplay that fans have never seen before."

You can expect to see Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution some time in spring of 2008.