After months of criticism, Firaxis has a plan for Civilization 7. Devs test one of the most requested features: playing with a single civilization

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 is slowly adding a feature that will essentially eliminate one of the key innovations of the new installment in the strategic series by Firaxis.

If you followed the information about the seventh Civ before its release, you probably came across discussions about the new civilization system. In a nutshell: upon advancing to the next era, the player would choose a new nation. The idea was that this would be one of the ways the game tackles the boredom that usually comes with the endgame in previous games. Most players would just quit the fun and start a new one when they got to the final stage.

A big change and free pirate DLC

That was the theory laid out by the devs. However, it seems like a lot of players just aren't sold on this system. Hence, the information shared by Ed Beach, the lead designer of the series: Firaxis is working on an option that will allow players to play with one civilization from start to finish.

Unfortunately, the creator didn't reveal any details. The team is currently doing some in-house testing on this option, but they're also planning to get players involved. The Firaxis Feature Workshop will enable this, as the developer plans to invite a select group of players in the coming months to test new mechanics or options for Civilization 7 and provide their feedback to the team.

Besides that, the developer revealed what's coming in update 1.3.0, which is dropping on November 3rd. The update will focus on naval battles and will introduce a new unit, building, resources, and a bunch of improvements for sea combat and resources (with some interface tweaks). The creators will also shake up the gameplay a bit and modify the game's balance again.

The next day, the new DLC collection, Tides of Power, will be released, and you can get it for free until January 5th. The content will be divided into two parts, with the second part releasing in December. Once the promotion ends, you can buy the add-ons separately to get Captain Edward Teach and the Pirate Republic as a new civilization.

Source: Firaxis Games / Take-Two Interactive.

Besides the excitement about the free DLC, players aren't really sure about the new feature. Many of them are not fans of the current system, but it also has quite a few enthusiasts. Some players believe that the problem is not the idea itself but the way it is implemented. Other people are saying the whole idea is off, and it's turning away long-time fans from Civ 7, which they feel just isn't "Civilization" anymore.

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Sid Meier's Civilization VII

February 11, 2025

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