Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, a new installment in the series of turn-based strategy games from developer Firaxis Games that executive producer Dennis Shirk says is the studio’s biggest and most ambitious project to date, delivering several innovative features that include Ages and the ability to select leaders and civilizations independently to mix and match gameplay bonuses, is launching for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and Mac and Linux via Steam on February 11, 2025, 2K has announced. Gwendoline Christie, the English actress best known for her roles as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones and First Order stormtrooper Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, is the narrator for the game.
Key features include:
- Build an Empire to Stand the Test of Time
- “Lead your empire through distinct Ages of human history. Each Age is its own rich, nuanced journey, with unique playable civilizations, available resources, explorable land, and even entire gameplay systems, creating a deep, historically immersive strategy experience. Strive to accomplish significant scientific, cultural, militaristic, and economic milestones within each Age to unlock impactful advantages in the next!”
- Evolve Your Empire as Each New Age Dawns
- “To build a legacy that truly stands the test of time, you must adapt. Forge your own path through history as you reshape your empire at the start of each Age, selecting from a pool of new Age-relevant civilization options determined by your prior gameplay accomplishments. Evolving your empire unlocks fresh gameplay bonuses and unique units, so your current civilization is always at the height of its power.”
- Play as Visionary Leaders of Progress
- “Embody an illustrious leader with one of Civilization’s most diverse rosters yet, from traditional heads of state known for their militaristic might or political prowess, to visionary leaders who made everlasting impacts in philosophy, science, human rights, and more! Each leader possesses a unique ability and can further be improved with customizable attributes earned through gameplay, empowering you to reinforce or pivot your strategy from one Age into the next. For the first time in franchise history, you can choose your leader separately from your civilization, giving you the freedom to create all-new strategies by mixing and matching gameplay bonuses.”
- Explore a World Brought to Life Like Never Before
- “Make your mark on a gorgeously detailed world! Your empire comes to life with a vast, diverse range of cultural styles, represented across building architecture and unit design. Face-to-face interactions with other historic leaders immerse you in every act of diplomacy and declaration of war. As your territory expands and your cities continue to develop, lavishly rendered vistas of your empire seamlessly connect to create a vibrant metropolis.
- Test Your Strategic Mettle in Multiplayer
- “Compete against other players online and prove your prowess as a great leader. Multiplayer matches can be epic multi-Age campaigns, or take place in a single Age so you can enjoy an entire game in a single session. Cross-play is supported between PC and consoles, so you can play together with friends wherever they are.”
- An Enjoyable Strategy Experience for All
- “With more than 30 years of franchise legacy to draw from, Civilization VII features a vast wealth of gameplay improvements that will thrill series veterans and newcomers alike. The overhauled tutorial experience and refined gameplay systems make jumping into Civilization easier than ever, while returning players will appreciate a massive suite of gameplay improvements. Move your army as one under the leadership of a commander, unlock progression bonuses for your leaders across multiple gameplay sessions, traverse navigable rivers, and much, much more!”
A narrator reveal for the game, including a 20+ minute deep dive:
Game description:
In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement.
Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.
Whether you choose to follow a path rooted in history or reimagine possibilities to chart your own way forward, build something you believe in and create a legacy that echoes through the Ages in Civilization VII.
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Discussion (13 replies)
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Hmm..
Civ has sucked so many hours away from my life - most of that was C2/C3 though. C6 was pretty underwhelming for me, although I'm due to play through another game or two of it - haven't fired it up for years.
So, not sure how this will turn out. Thinking I will probably check it out when I can get it on sale, wax nostalgic about older Civ games where I used to lose entire weekends to, and end up being somewhat disappointed with it. At least that's how 5 and 6 played out.
"Brian_B, post: 88492, member: 96" wrote:Hmm..
Civ has sucked so many hours away from my life - most of that was C2/C3 though. C6 was pretty underwhelming for me, although I'm due to play through another game or two of it - haven't fired it up for years.
So, not sure how this will turn out. Thinking I will probably check it out when I can get it on sale, wax nostalgic about older Civ games where I used to lose entire weekends to, and end up being somewhat disappointed with it. At least that's how 5 and 6 played out.
Did you somehow channel exactly how I feel about it and write the post before I could? It’s entirely possible I’ve spent more time between civ2 and 3 than I have any other 2 games. Toss in Masters of Orion 2, and you probably have my most 3 played games of all time.
Oh man I've burned OODLES in MOO2.
The pricing, the announced dlc and the design choice to emulate Homekind's changing civ idea with each era is offputting. That and I view civ 5/6 as a waste of money. 5 seemed better but 6 was just not fun. I lasted 2 hours or so.
Definately a wait and see how it does for its first 1-2 years.
Civ is one of the few series that is a pretty much "I'm going to buy this no matter what" title.
I wish games would get away from using celebrity voice actors though. It just drives up cost for little to no benefit.
I tended to like the "RP English" narrator in previous titles. Sean Bean's voice was a little too colloquial for me. I didn't care for it.
"Brian_B, post: 88492, member: 96" wrote:Hmm..
Civ has sucked so many hours away from my life - most of that was C2/C3 though. C6 was pretty underwhelming for me, although I'm due to play through another game or two of it - haven't fired it up for years.
I have a similar experience.
I was really into the original Civilization and Colonization back in the DOS days. I skipped 2 and 3 though. (I was in academic hell in 1996 when 2 came out, and when 3 came out in 2001 I was in my Counter-Strike addicted phase)
I got back into it with 4, which I put a ton of hours into, most of them outside of Steam, so I have no idea how many hours I actually spent in that game.
When I got into 4, the final expansion (Beyond the Sword) had already been launched. It was pretty awesome.
I found 5 to be a disappointment when it first launched, but it got better with each expansion until with Gods and Kings expansion it was really quite good.
The same thing repeated itself with 6. The initial release was a disappointment, but by the time the final expansion (Gathering Storm) came out it was quite enjoyable as well.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that at least since 4, this is how Civilization goes:
- Initial Release: Meh. Not complex enough.
- First expansion: Adds some complexity and balance, fixes some annoying bugs and makes it more interesting.
- Second expansion: Adds more complexity and balance and turns it anywhere from good to great.
Rinse and repeat.
Since there are usually 2 years between initial game launch and first expansion, and one more year between first expansion and second expansion, if history is any guide, Civ 7 will be in its best final form by 2028...
Even with the expansions making the later games better and better, my time spent in game has dramatically gone down with each release, in part because I am no longer a kid with near unlimited play time, but also in part due to the fact that it can't help but feel like more of the same.
The tweaks they have made to make things different and interesting (hexes instead of squares in Civ5, city districts in Civ6, etc) have simultaneously been mildly annoying (at least at first until I got used to them) and also not been enough to feel like there was something new there.
One thing that really bothered me with 6 was the art style. They took a more serious looking style in 5 (and previous releases, albeit limited by the graphics at the time) and turned it cartoonish in 6. That bothered me a lot. I haven't watched the game previews of 7 yet, but I really hope they reverse that. I have a sneaky suspicion they haven't though
"Zarathustra, post: 88530, member: 203" wrote:I wish games would get away from using celebrity voice actors though. It just drives up cost for little to no benefit.
I tended to like the "RP English" narrator in previous titles. Sean Bean's voice was a little too colloquial for me. I didn't care for it.
With that said, I have now heard the narrator reveal video. I think it works. Still probably added needless cost, but it really does work.
I think I tried one of the earlier ones but definitely dug into V and enjoyed it. I remember trying VI but it wasn't enough to really grab me. Totally enjoyed Masters of Orion 2 as well.
These days I tend to want something a bit quicker and simpler, maybe 2-3 hours tops, and really miss things like M.U.L.E, Populous, and the original Sid Meier's Railroads (not tycoon). I love these sim type games but sometimes its just too much to remember all the keys and building steps for each one.
So I just watched the first 12 minutes of the gameplay example video.
Some thoughts.
- The game appears to build upon Civ 6, but with lots of changes.
- Art style is much improved (IMHO). It feels less cartoonish.
- I'm still confused by the concept of playing as multiple civilizations over time. I'm not quite clear about how this will work. (maybe the rest of the video explains that)
- I was never quite a fan of embarking units, preferring the old way of building transport craft. Sadly, embarking units remain.
- City building seems to have changed.
- Firstly, it now seems as if you found towns, not cities, and these towns have the ability to grow into Cities. Makes sense, but it is unclear to me how it works.
- It looks like they might have done away with the settler unit, which is pretty precedent breaking. It also appears that game rules limit the number of cities you can found (one screen between ages gave away that one of the benefits in the next age was the ability to found an additional town (presumably in addition to what the age otherwise would have allowed.) This might limit the differences in how rapidly civilizations grow. Not sure though.
- The brief show of combat also seems to suggest that combat has been significantly reworked, with simultaneous battle for multiple units. It is unclear to me how this works
It's interesting. Might be good. Might hate it. Not sure yet. Time will tell. There will certainly be opinions in the Civ community though :p
"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 88544, member: 87" wrote:These days I tend to want something a bit quicker and simpler, maybe 2-3 hours tops, and really miss things like M.U.L.E, Populous, and the original Sid Meier's Railroads (not tycoon). I love these sim type games but sometimes its just too much to remember all the keys and building steps for each one.
I'm a little bit of the opposite.
I will start a new Civ game, max out the map size, max out the number of civs (and City states) and set it to the slowest (most epic/marathon) time scale, and play the same game for a few months straight until it is over.
Then I'll move on to another game (usually story based single player FPS) and by the time I finish that game I am ready for another go at Civ. I then alternate back and forth like this. The infinite replay-ability of Civ helps fill out the empty time between FPS game launches that interest me, and the FPS games between games of Civ helps keep Civ from growing too repetetive.
"Zarathustra, post: 88545, member: 203" wrote:
- It looks like they might have done away with the settler unit, which is pretty precedent breaking.
I take this back. I saw "train settler" mentioned in another screen later in the video.
Bullshit.
They are tying access to various personas to opting to use a 2K Account.
I hate that shit.
I DO NOT CREATE ACCOUNTS. I shouldn't have to miss out on features as a result.
I've been watching YT vids previewing Civ 7 and I am not getting good vibes. Didn't love 6, Beyond Earth sucked.... might sit out 7 until it gets cheap in a couple years.
Discussion (13 replies)
Join Discussion →Hmm..
Civ has sucked so many hours away from my life - most of that was C2/C3 though. C6 was pretty underwhelming for me, although I'm due to play through another game or two of it - haven't fired it up for years.
So, not sure how this will turn out. Thinking I will probably check it out when I can get it on sale, wax nostalgic about older Civ games where I used to lose entire weekends to, and end up being somewhat disappointed with it. At least that's how 5 and 6 played out.
Did you somehow channel exactly how I feel about it and write the post before I could? It’s entirely possible I’ve spent more time between civ2 and 3 than I have any other 2 games. Toss in Masters of Orion 2, and you probably have my most 3 played games of all time.
Oh man I've burned OODLES in MOO2.
The pricing, the announced dlc and the design choice to emulate Homekind's changing civ idea with each era is offputting. That and I view civ 5/6 as a waste of money. 5 seemed better but 6 was just not fun. I lasted 2 hours or so.
Definately a wait and see how it does for its first 1-2 years.
Civ is one of the few series that is a pretty much "I'm going to buy this no matter what" title.
I wish games would get away from using celebrity voice actors though. It just drives up cost for little to no benefit.
I tended to like the "RP English" narrator in previous titles. Sean Bean's voice was a little too colloquial for me. I didn't care for it.
I have a similar experience.
I was really into the original Civilization and Colonization back in the DOS days. I skipped 2 and 3 though. (I was in academic hell in 1996 when 2 came out, and when 3 came out in 2001 I was in my Counter-Strike addicted phase)
I got back into it with 4, which I put a ton of hours into, most of them outside of Steam, so I have no idea how many hours I actually spent in that game.
When I got into 4, the final expansion (Beyond the Sword) had already been launched. It was pretty awesome.
I found 5 to be a disappointment when it first launched, but it got better with each expansion until with Gods and Kings expansion it was really quite good.
The same thing repeated itself with 6. The initial release was a disappointment, but by the time the final expansion (Gathering Storm) came out it was quite enjoyable as well.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that at least since 4, this is how Civilization goes:
- Initial Release: Meh. Not complex enough.
- First expansion: Adds some complexity and balance, fixes some annoying bugs and makes it more interesting.
- Second expansion: Adds more complexity and balance and turns it anywhere from good to great.
Rinse and repeat.
Since there are usually 2 years between initial game launch and first expansion, and one more year between first expansion and second expansion, if history is any guide, Civ 7 will be in its best final form by 2028...
Even with the expansions making the later games better and better, my time spent in game has dramatically gone down with each release, in part because I am no longer a kid with near unlimited play time, but also in part due to the fact that it can't help but feel like more of the same.
The tweaks they have made to make things different and interesting (hexes instead of squares in Civ5, city districts in Civ6, etc) have simultaneously been mildly annoying (at least at first until I got used to them) and also not been enough to feel like there was something new there.
One thing that really bothered me with 6 was the art style. They took a more serious looking style in 5 (and previous releases, albeit limited by the graphics at the time) and turned it cartoonish in 6. That bothered me a lot. I haven't watched the game previews of 7 yet, but I really hope they reverse that. I have a sneaky suspicion they haven't though
With that said, I have now heard the narrator reveal video. I think it works. Still probably added needless cost, but it really does work.
I think I tried one of the earlier ones but definitely dug into V and enjoyed it. I remember trying VI but it wasn't enough to really grab me. Totally enjoyed Masters of Orion 2 as well.
These days I tend to want something a bit quicker and simpler, maybe 2-3 hours tops, and really miss things like M.U.L.E, Populous, and the original Sid Meier's Railroads (not tycoon). I love these sim type games but sometimes its just too much to remember all the keys and building steps for each one.
So I just watched the first 12 minutes of the gameplay example video.
Some thoughts.
It's interesting. Might be good. Might hate it. Not sure yet. Time will tell. There will certainly be opinions in the Civ community though :p
I'm a little bit of the opposite.
I will start a new Civ game, max out the map size, max out the number of civs (and City states) and set it to the slowest (most epic/marathon) time scale, and play the same game for a few months straight until it is over.
Then I'll move on to another game (usually story based single player FPS) and by the time I finish that game I am ready for another go at Civ. I then alternate back and forth like this. The infinite replay-ability of Civ helps fill out the empty time between FPS game launches that interest me, and the FPS games between games of Civ helps keep Civ from growing too repetetive.
I take this back. I saw "train settler" mentioned in another screen later in the video.
Bullshit.
They are tying access to various personas to opting to use a 2K Account.
I hate that shit.
I DO NOT CREATE ACCOUNTS. I shouldn't have to miss out on features as a result.
I've been watching YT vids previewing Civ 7 and I am not getting good vibes. Didn't love 6, Beyond Earth sucked.... might sit out 7 until it gets cheap in a couple years.