| Civilization VII | |
| Developer: | Firaxis Games |
| Publisher: | 2K |
| Series: | Civilization |
| Released: | February 11, 2025 |
| Genre: | 4X |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
Sid Meier's Civilization VII is an upcoming 4X video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The game is scheduled to be released on February 11, 2025, for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Civilization VII, as a 4X game, has the player oversee the growth of a human civilization from early settlements to an advanced culture. The player uses various units, representing military and civilian units, to explore the map, grow their civilization through additional cities, culture, and technology, gather resources of the geography around their settlements, and defeat threats from foreign civilizations also attempting to grow their civilization. The player can win the game through a range of possible victory conditions, ranging from peaceful solutions to full military domination of the world.
Civilization VII will allow the player to select leaders and civilizations independently, with civilizations favoring leaders with certain attributes.[1] The criteria for who constitutes a "leader" has also been updated, with philosophers, religious leaders, and scientists who were not heads of state being included. The historical era system will be simplified into the antiquity, exploration, and modern eras, in comparison to the further divisions implemented by the game's predecessors. During antiquity era, independent factions—deliberately labeled to prevent perceived negative connotations of the term "barbarian" used in previous games in the series—will emerge. Depending on the player's interactions with them, some of them will evolve to become a city state.[2] The player must change their civilization when transitioning from one era to another at the end of each eras. Following the end of the antiquity and the exploration era, players will be faced with a "crisis event" which will bring negative drawbacks in the subsequent eras.[3]
In February 2023, Firaxis Games announced it was developing a sequel to Civilization VI (2016).[4] PCGamesN reported in August 2021 that Firaxis had posted a job opening for a narrative lead for the game.[5] Gwendoline Christie narrates the game's voiceovers.[6]
Firaxis Games collaborated with members of the Shawnee Tribe, including Shawnee chief Benjamin Barnes, to create a historically accurate depiction of Tecumseh in the game. Tecumseh is voiced by Dean Dillon, a Shawnee voice actor. As part of the partnership between Firaxis Games and the Shawnee Tribe, Firaxis and 2K donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to programs working to revitalize the Shawnee language.[7]
Civilization VII was announced at the Summer Game Fest on June 7, 2024.[8] 2K previously announced it would appear at Summer Game Fest in May to reveal the "next iteration in one of its biggest and most beloved franchises".[9] Hours before the presentation, the game was unintentionally announced on 2K's website.[10] Civilization VII is set to be released for Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S[11] on February 11, 2025.[12]