Civilization 7 has been a rather controversial entry in the long-running 4X strategy franchise. Civ 7 made some significant changes to the series formula, implementing a radically different Age system, and introducing the ability to pair a leader with any Civilization. On top of those changes, Civilization 7 suffered from some performance and design issues at launch, with fans and critics alike taking issue with the game's UI, among other things.

Civilization 7 Choose Qing China Modern Age
Civilization 7: Why You Should Choose Qing China for the Modern Age

Qing China turns imports into culture, gold, and influence, making it the best pick in Civilization 7 for an Economic Victory route.

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This is Just The Beginning for Civilization 7

Another Civilization 7 Port is on the Way

Civilization 7 is landing on Nintendo Switch 2 on its June 5 launch. While the Switch 2's launch line-up is arguably much stronger than the original's, with a new Mario Kart, tons of upgraded Switch 1 games, and plenty of major third-party releases, there's still a strong possibility that early adopters of Nintendo's next hybrid console will want to pick up everything they can on launch day. This could lead to Civilization 7 getting a second wind, albeit on a completely new platform.

A big caveat to this, however, is that Civilization 7 needs to actually run well on the Nintendo Switch 2. Fans still have some sizable issues with Civ 7's performance on console, and those issues certainly won't do the game any favors if they're present in the Switch 2 version as well.

Civilization 7 Has Plenty in the Pipeline

Developer Firaxis has already released one expansion for Civilization 7, and it didn't go down too well. Many fans took the DLC and its $30 price tag as a bit of an insult, given that many deemed the base game to be unfinished. Naturally, Firaxis wants to avoid yet another round of controversy, so it's decided to delay its "Right to Rule" expansion by a few months to focus on remedying Civ 7's key issues.

When Firaxis has fixed those core issues, and when more content starts to roll out, there's a possibility that Civilization 7 could see a resurgence in active players. Of course, there are controversial elements of Civ 7 that can't simply be removed due to them being inherent parts of the game, but fixing the UI and some other elements could bring some fans back around.

Civilization 7's $70 price tag is undoubtedly a bit too steep for some who are still on the fence. It might find more players when it eventually goes on sale.

This is a somewhat common cycle for the Civilization franchise. A new entry will come out, it has some clear issues, Firaxis works out the kinks, and the game gets a resurgence a year or so after launch, often coinciding with a big expansion. That's not to say that fans shouldn't be disappointed Civilization 7 isn't what they were hoping for, but there's a chance it could be received a bit better later down the line.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 super greyscale 8-bit logo PC-1
Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 77%
Released
February 11, 2025
ESRB
Everyone 10+ // Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Mild Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
Developer(s)
Firaxis Games
Publisher(s)
2K
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 1
6 Images
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 1
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 2
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 6
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 3
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 4
Sid Meier's Civilization VII Press Image 5

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Genre(s)
Grand Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, 4X