What to Expect from Civilization 7 in 2025

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 15, 2025 2 Views 9 Min Read
What to Expect from Civilization 7 in 2025

For fans of 4X strategy games, it’s hard to dispute that the Civilization series is the king. On February 11, a new entry is coming to let strategy fans reshape history: Sid Meier’s Civilization 7.

But there’s a lot about Civilization 7 that will take dedicated fans of the franchise a lot of getting used to–things like changes to the game’s eras, score victory, combat, and even the way civilizations themselves function. With its release so close, fans can have some clear expectations for launch and the remainder of the year.

Civilization 7 Ming Civ City

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Do You Think Civ 7’s Vast Changes Will Be Good Or Bad For The Game?

I honestly don’t know how to feel about the changes coming to the traditional Civ formula coming in Civilization 7.

On the one hand, I like some new mechanics and updates a lot, like the updated trading system, cities vs town settlements, the updated combat and Commander mechanics, and perhaps controversially the ability to change Civilizations at the turn of the age. 

But on the other, I’m apprehensive that Civ 7 will streamline and simplify too much about what makes Civ fun to play. The removal of Traders and Builders is a big friction point for me, as I genuinely liked those systems in Civ 6 and previous titles, and the lack of an Information Age and Religious Victory condition in the release version of the game makes me a bit worried, too. Still, I’m hopeful that everything improves the game, as I want to sink hundreds of hours of my life into Civilization 7 – I’m just worried it won’t capture me like previous titles.

A Revolution for the Civs

Something that players of Civilization have taken for granted over the years is that a leader and a culture are a package deal. If a player selects Gandhi, they’d expect to play as India; same for George Washington and America or Dido and Carthage. That isn’t true in Civilization 7.

In Civilization 7, leaders and nations aren’t tied together. In fact, players won’t guide one single nation from antiquity to the end of the game at all. Reflecting the way, for example, what was Rome is now Italy, players choose a single leader, while the nation they lead changes with each Civ 7 era. The pharaoh Hatshepsut can lead the Maya in Antiquity, the Ming Dynasty in the Age of Exploration, and France in the Modern Age, never once touching her historical home of Egypt.

This has also allowed a broader variety of leaders. People who were, without a doubt, some of history’s great leaders but never served as head of state for a nation like Harriett Tubman, Ibn Battuta, or Benjamin Franklin who have been able to join the leader pool for Civilization 7.

The changing of nations isn’t a smooth process in reality. Rome had to fall for Italy to exist. To go from the nation a player used during Antiquity to the one they’ll lead in the Age of Exploration, there necessarily would be some kind of crisis at the turning of the age. As the age transition draws closer, the game prompts players with several crises their civilization may face that will presage their very own fall of Rome.

The new approach offers two major advantages over past titles. First, they offer a major point of course-correction at the start of each age, where something that might not have been working for the first third of the game can be refined or replaced with a new strategy. Second, it addresses the issue where a particular civilization’s strengths are focused on a particular era, which seriously hinders those civilizations in the rest of the game. In particular, a civ’s unique combat unit has traditionally been useful only during a small window of gameplay.

Sid Meier Civilization 7 Age of Exploration

Civilization 7 Combat Evolved

In Firaxis’ upcoming entry, combat doesn’t stop until all orders are issued. Facing is also established in the new combat system, which allows for things like flanking and battle lines to look more realistic and clear. There are a lot of cosmetic advancements built into this new continuous combat system as well, like a clearer visual delineation between the same units from different nations to help make sense of the intense clashes the new system is designed to help facilitate.

Eliminating all other Civ players is no longer the sole concern for military victories, either. Rather, capturing and holding enemy cities plays an important role in the milestones a player must pursue through the ages to work toward a military victory. Many military victory milestones involve controlling a vast empire, with captured cities weighted heavier than ones founded by the player. In this way, military dominance is less about being the last one standing and more about being the preeminent superpower through history. This is reflected in more complex victory conditions for other paths as well.

Expecting the Game Itself

Probably the biggest thing to expect from Civilization 7 is the game itself. Civilization 7 is set to release February 11, 2025, and, as a bit of a surprise for the franchise, will be launching on multiple platforms. The voice of the game will also continue in the proud legacy of distinctive, famous voices that the franchise has been known for. Joining the ranks of Sean Bean and the late Leonard Nimoy will be Gwendoline Christie, who is famous for roles such as Captain Phasma in Star Wars, Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones, and Larissa Weems in Wednesday.

At launch, players will have a bevy of choices for leaders and nations, which given Firaxis’ pattern will only grow with time. Civ 6 released a plethora of DLC leaders, gameplay expansions, wonders, and more, so it stands to reason that Civ 7 will do the same. Fans can expect more news on its post-launch plans in the coming months. It’s also likely that Steam Workshop content will start coming out by late 2025, adding more wonders, leaders, and nations through the life cycle of the latest Sid Meier title.

Civilization 7 is an experimental entry into the long-standing and proud 4X franchise for certain, but with it releasing so early in 2025, players won’t have to wait long to see if the game dominates or needs DLC for its own era transition down the line.

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