At Gamescom 2024, Firaxis Games unveiled more details on Civilization VII, including many firsts for the franchise. To begin, the title will launch simultaneously on consoles and PC on February 11, 2025.
In this installment, players will forge their own civilization through blending multiple historical cultures. Previously, players selected a single leader to guide their civilization through the eras. Now, players will select a leader for each age to customize their own unique civilization. This will allow players to select bonuses that stack with prior era bonuses, or they can use this selection to pivot mid-game.
There will be three Ages for Civ 7 players to explore: Antiquity, Exploration and Modern. Notably, each Age’s gameplay, technologies, civics and resources will be confined to that period. The map will also expand as the ages progress, giving players more room to strategize.
Leaders will evolve through the ages as well. In addition to traditional heads of state, the title will feature philosophical, scientific and religious leaders too.
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According to the game’s designers, this fundamentally changed how the team balanced the game. Instead of civilizations that feel powerful in a particular era, Civilization VII will allow players to make an impact in each period.
This evolution of mechanics isn’t new for the series. However, it’s clear that Civilization VII is taking notes from its newer rivals: Sega’s Humankind and Xbox Game Studios’ Ara: History Untold. Both titles feature similar civilization blending mechanics. At this time, it’s also unclear if Civilization VI’s unstacked city mechanics will continue into Civ VII.
Additionally, Firaxis also announced that English actress Gwendoline Christie would serve as Civ VII’s narrator. In previous iterations, fellow Game of Thrones alum Sean Bean and Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy lent their voices to the role. While Christie isn’t the first woman to narrate a Civilization title, she is the first for the mainline series.
Civilization VII launches on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on February 11, 2025. More details on pre-order bonuses are available now.