The day is finally here, Civ VII players: The Test of Time update is now live in-game!
For those who haven't been following its progress, Test of Time – also called Update 1.4.0 – is magnitudes more than just a patch or even most of our larger, regular Updates. It's over a year's worth of passionate feedback, meaningful iteration, and the Firaxis Feature Workshop's invaluable playtesting synthesized into a huge, free update joining the many other refined features and smaller reworks released since launch.
While there are far more tweaks than we could list here (read about them all in the detailed Game Update Notes published for Update 1.4.0), the most substantial changes arrive in the form of three reworked or entirely new features:
Time-Tested civs
You can now play as one civ throughout an entire campaign! While the option to evolve your empire into a different civilization during Age Transitions remains, being able to play as one civ across the span of history is something many players hold dear as a core element of the Civ experience. When playing as a Time-Tested civilization, the new Syncretism mechanic lets you create new builds by adopting the Unique Units or Infrastructure from another civ currently in its Apex Age – or you can double down on what makes your civ unique with Affirmation. To learn more, check out design lead Matt Owens' recent Dev Diary.
Triumphs
Replacing Legacy Paths entirely is the brand-new Triumphs system: optional, more dynamic objectives that help make campaigns feel unique. Each Triumph is tied to one of the six Attributes: Militaristic, Cultural, Scientific, Economic, Diplomatic, and Expansionist. To learn more, check out designer Kiera Boyle's recent Dev Diary.
The new Victories system
Supported by a wider range of activities, Victories have been fully redesigned to reward your dominance across all three Ages. We're committed to ensuring that wins in Civ VII are defined by success in making interesting choices, and giving you as many paths as possible to pursue greatness. To learn more, check out designer Bill Anderson's recent Dev Diary.
Alongside these three main pillars, the Test of Time update brings many other improvements, including:
- A new Fractal Continent map**
- A new Commerce screen
- A new Advisor Council
- Updated map generation**
- New Narrative Events
- Updates to Specialists and Biomes
- New audio and music
- Numerous balance changes
- FREE leader Alexander the Great
- And more!
With the Test of Time update finally in players' hands, we'd like to thank our amazing community once again and emphasize that this is not the end of Civ VII development by any means. There's plenty of future Civ VII content in the pipeline.
For now, keep an eye on the official Civilization site for news about future content, updates, and more, then feel free to leave further feedback and connect with your fellow fans on the official Civ Discord!
*Base game required. This content is free for all owners of Civilization VII and will be delivered automatically in-game on release. Terms apply.
**Map restrictions may apply to gameplay on Nintendo Switch.
