Civilization VII’s big changes could be exactly what the series needs

Civilization is the North Star of 4X strategy games . Since the original version of Sid Meier’s Civilization first hit PCs in 1991, it has laid the groundwork for an entire genre of strategy games . That’s not going to change anytime soon, with Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on the horizon, releasing February 11, 2025.

I’ve played more Civilization than any other game. I have over 3,000 hours of playtime between Civilization V and VI on Steam. If you’ve played the game before, you know how easily time suddenly disappears while playing it. You think you can just play for a few more turns and go to bed at a reasonable time. Suddenly, the Romans are launching a surprise attack, and before you know it, it’s two in the morning.

My excitement for the new game is at an all-time high after seeing the gameplay reveal. The new feature making it possible to navigate rivers with boats is enough for me to buy Civilization VII on release day, but there’s plenty more.

Gwendoline Christie is an exciting addition as the narrator. She draws from a line of Game of Thrones actors who previously narrated the game, like Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few concerns. It’s clear that Firaxis is planning for Civilization VII to mark a major turning point in the series, but the introduction of new gameplay elements has me hopeful that Civilization VII can avoid the problems that plagued both V and VI.

Can Civilization VII be better than Civ VI from the jump?

Previous Civ games have released feeling unfinished

I was really excited about playing Civilization VI when it was first released back in 2016, but the game was pretty disappointing, which follows a trend for Civilization games at their release. New Civ games usually don’t overtake their predecessors until they’ve received their DLC expansions. For years after the sixth installment’s release, I played Civilization V over the newer game.

Now, I would say that Civilization VI is the better of the two, although there’s still a healthy debate among fans. What changed for me were the two main expansion DLCs released for Civilization VI — Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm. The same thing happened with Civilization V, which became a much different, and better, game after its two big DLCs were released. One thing that has me hopeful with Civilization VII is that Firaxis seems to be changing gameplay elements entirely for this new entry. So, even if it’s not great, it’s going to feel like a different experience.

The big news from the Civilization VII gameplay reveal is how you’ll switch civilizations as you progress through the three ages in the game. So, you might start as Egypt in the Ancient Era, but when you reach the Exploration Era, you’ll be able to choose a new civilization based on how you’ve played the game so far. You’ll be able to combine certain bonuses from both your old and new civ as you attempt to dominate a new era. It should all make for fun strategy decisions and different gameplay styles.

While your civilization might change, you will keep the same leader throughout the entire game, which brings up another exciting new feature — skill trees for your leader. As you advance through the game, you’ll be able to flesh out the character leading your civilization by choosing traits from different skill trees. In previous games, your leader was just a static charcter that popped up in cutscenes. Decoupling leaders from their civilizations is the biggest change made in the series since its inception. This all adds up to a big bet, but it could be great for the Civilization series.

The Civilization series needed change

Civilization VI was great, but we don’t need a copycat

Firaxis could have released a Civilization VI clone with a few new features and had no problem shipping copies of the new title. I would’ve bought the game if the only feature they added was the ability to sail boats up rivers. Instead, they’re trying something a little different. A big reason behind that is a core problem that dates back to the original Civilization game — a standard Civilization game starts very exciting but then gets more boring as it drags on into later eras. Each edition of the game has tried to address this problem in its own way. Civilization VI added the effects of climate change to the endgame, while Civilization V added a world congress to the later stages of games.

Civilization VII will benefit from both of those features, but this time, the big answer to solving the endgame problem that plagues Civilization games is to change the game itself. By weaving together different civilizations and filling out your leader’s skill tree based on what you need for that game, each playthrough should feel totally different as you reach the modern age.

Combined with the additions from previous games and improved computer AI, making the endgame filled with enough variety that it’s different every time might be the perfect answer to the problem that has stumped Civ developers from the beginning. However, there’s also evidence that this feature isn’t what 4X strategy gamers want.

Humankind already tried changing Civilizations in-game

A Civilization competitor had a very similar feature

Humankind was a much-anticipated Civilization competitor that was released in 2021. It featured the same type of idea that the new Civilization will use, with you building an evolving society as time goes on in the game by choosing different elements from available civilizations. The Humankind Twitter account even vaguely pointed this out.

Unfortunately, though, Humankind wasn’t very well received. It’s been stuck with a “Mixed Reviews” tag on Steam since its release. I played the game a bunch when it came out, and the best thing about it was that it really made me want to play Civilization VI.

That’s the real beauty of the Civilization series, though, and why Firaxis should be bold when making new installments—Civilization games hold up extremely well. There’s no reason to make the same Civilization game over again with a couple of new features and slightly updated graphics. Stepping outside what has made previous entries successful could make Civilization VII the biggest failure in the series so far, but that risk could also make it the most successful entry ever if it’s finally able to make Civilization’s endgame as interesting as its start.