Sid Meier's Civilization VII finally got an official release date, Feb. 11, 2025, along with a new gameplay trailer that shows fans of the franchise a glimpse of what they expect to see in the latest entry in the series.
Opening Night Live helped kick off Gamescom 2024 with a blast and Civilization will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
Civilization VII Release Date
There will also be a deluxe edition that will include five days of early access to give some fans a bit of a headstart in their journey through history.
The new trailer that was revealed shows that Civilization VII features a more grounded art style compared to what was seen in its predecessor, according to IGN.
Since Civilization VI was released in 2016, the game has received many expansions, scenario packs, new nations, modes, and systems to shake up the meta. However, series producer Dennis Shirk said that enough was enough.
He noted that the game was getting too big for its britches, noting that it was already time to "make something new." Designer Ed Beach added that it was difficult to even get through the entirety of Civilization VI.
Beach also singled out the key issue that Firaxis Games aims to solve with Civilization VII. He noted that in Civilization VI, the number of systems, units, and entities that players need to manage just become overwhelming after a while, said The Guardian.
A Variety of New Features
To change this, Civilization VII's campaign has been split into three ages; Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern.
Each of these will end in a dramatic explosion of global crises that Beach said will break the game into chapters to let players get through history at a more digestible pace.
When you start a new campaign in Civilization VII, you will have to pick a leader and civilization to govern and direct your people in establishing their first settlements and encounters.
You will have to choose the technologies that your people research, the expansions that they make to their cities, and whom they try to either befriend or conquer.
Beach said that they were excited to take players on a new type of journey through history with Civilization VII.
He said that the introduction of revolutionary new features promises to be true to its original objective of being the ultimate historical strategy game for players to enjoy, according to 2K.