Hi Civ fans – Ed Beach here, creative director for the Civilization franchise. 

For more than 30 years, Civilization has challenged players to build an empire to stand the test of time, offering rich, strategic gameplay that has resonated with fans across the world. That includes many of us on the Firaxis development team, who have devoted much of our lives to working on this legendary series. 

One year ago, we embarked on a bold new journey with the launch of Civilization VII. Our vision was to push the boundaries of the franchise, introducing new mechanics that offered a fresh perspective for our players.

The most rewarding part of the past year has been spending it with you – our community. Your passion, your ideas, and your feedback have shaped how we think about Civilization VII, and continue to guide where we're taking this game next. As we look ahead, we're committed to building on that foundation and weaving what we've heard directly into the game's DNA – so Civ VII keeps growing into something that feels great for deity veterans and new players alike.

We're excited to build the future of Civilization VII together, and now we're ready to share a bit about where it's going next. 

Update 1.3.2 is Coming Soon! 

Let's start with an overview of Update 1.3.2, going live soon! 

This update brings a mix of gameplay improvements and quality-of-life upgrades across the board. To kick things off, we've begun rolling out nested tooltips. These can now be found throughout Production Menus and the Tech & Civics Trees, making it much easier to find the information you need when building your empire. This is just a start, and we intend to incorporate more nested tooltips in future updates.

On the gameplay side, our balance pass continues for a few more civilizations, including a French Empire rework, a buff to Dai Viet, a rebalance of the Mughal Empire, and a fix for the Shawnee. You'll find the specifics in the update notes when they release.

We're also deploying a set of targeted system updates. First, AI Diplomacy Biases have been adjusted to better align AI behavior with each civilization's intended personality, meaning more consistent interactions that feel in keeping with each civ. Second, Coastal Raids have been reworked to function more like naval pillaging, so these fall more in line with the new systems we've introduced over the last couple updates. And third, we're introducing a new Appeal Lens that lets you instantly see how appealing any tile is, letting you know exactly where to build to net more Happiness. This new lens also supports new differentiation between Charming and Breathtaking levels of Appeal; Breathtaking tiles are even more powerful sources of Happiness!

And because it's our anniversary, we've got a few fun surprises coming with 1.3.2… To celebrate one year of Civilization VII, we're welcoming back your favorite ally – the legendary demigod of Uruk, Gilgamesh, into the Civ VII leader roster! Gilgamesh will be FREE for all Civilization VII players as a thank you from us to the community, along with a free anniversary profile badge, banner, and title. When you download the update, this content will be available in-game with no extra steps.

As always, keep an eye out for the update notes for the full details, and don't miss our Developer Update video that shows these changes in action. 

Introducing the "Test of Time" Update 

At the end of last year, we announced that we were working on longer-lead design plans that have major implications for Civilization VII. As a part of that announcement we also mentioned we wanted to invite the community to playtest these features through our new Firaxis Feature Workshop initiative, so we can receive and iterate on player feedback before it goes live for all players. We've been careful about sharing specifics while things were still in motion, but now – having just wrapped the first round of community playtesting – it feels like a good moment to open things up. 

There are three major feature evolutions in the works. We're introducing optionality to play as one civ continuously through all the Ages; we're significantly reworking how Victories are achieved; and we're completely replacing Legacy Paths with a new system called Triumphs. 

Together, these updates are similar in scope to an expansion in terms of gameplay systems and functionality, and will fundamentally change the way Civilization VII feels and plays from start to finish. We plan to ship these features together in a single, massive free update that we're calling “Test of Time.” We are tentatively aiming for the Test of Time update to launch this Spring. 

The timing of this update as well as the scope and functionality of its features are subject to change as we continue to receive and iterate on community playtest feedback. 

Playing as the Same Civ Through All the Ages

First, let's dig into the biggest change we're testing in the Firaxis Feature Workshop, and one of the most-requested community features: the ability to play as one civilization throughout the whole game.

With Civilization VII, our goal has always been to deliver a more dynamic empire-building experience, where your civilization evolves and reinvents itself over time. That said, we also heard loud and clear that many players want to lead a single civilization from its early beginnings to an advanced empire. 

In the Test of Time update you'll be able to start a game with any civ from any Age. There's now a new choice to make during the Age Transition process: select a new civ, as you do today, or continue playing as the same civilization into the next Age. AI opponents will follow the player's lead here, either remaining as a single civ or switching to a new one in corresponding fashion. To be clear, this is not a new game mode; continuing as the same civ or choosing to switch will be entirely at your discretion -- whatever feels best for your strategic and story-telling needs at that moment in time.

We're introducing some new concepts to Civ VII to make playing any civ in any Age possible. Let's step through an example of how these new concepts work. 

Let's say you begin a game as Rome in the Antiquity Age. Because this is the Age in which Rome was at the height of its power (and is the default Age in which you can play as Rome in Civ VII today), this is Rome's Apex Age – the sole Age where this civ gets its full, unique kit. Every civ will have a single Apex Age through a full Civ VII campaign.

Upon transitioning from the Antiquity Age to the Exploration Age, let's say you decide to continue playing as Rome instead of selecting a different civ to represent your empire. 

Civs played outside of their Apex Age retain a core, defining part of their kit and gain a new Age-appropriate Civic Tree. In our example, this tree includes a unique node, Roman Renaissance, that lets you optionally unlock more Age-appropriate Roman perks, as well as two nodes based on your civ's attributes – in Rome's case that's Cultural and Militaristic. These attribute-based nodes are common for all civs outside of their Apex Age, providing perks that are relevant for the current Age's mechanics. 

But that's not all! As a civ outside of its Apex Age, you can further bolster your capabilities through a new system called Syncretism – the ultimate tool for the strategic tinkerer.

Syncretism allows you to create all-new builds by enabling you to study a Mastery on your new unique Civic node, and adopt the Unique Units or Infrastructure from another civilization currently in its Apex Age. As Rome in the Exploration Age, for example, you may consider empowering your militaristic pursuits by adopting the Spanish Tercio to enhance Rome's infantry flanking strategy, or maybe instead Norman's Motte and Bailey to amass Culture while providing defensive Fortifications. You can choose the unique military or Infrastructure from any associated civilization, but you can only do this once per Age, so choose wisely!

This Rome example, of course, would extend into the Modern Age. It's also important to note that you can start a game in Antiquity with a civilization from any Age, including civs that today are unique to the Exploration or Modern Ages. The same rules apply backwards in time.

The hopeful result of these updates is that the options are in your hands. You can play Rome (or any other civ!) for every turn, making strategic, adaptive choices through a full campaign. Or, you can embrace the dramatic shift of playing a new civ when it suits your strategy or empire's story. We're gathering feedback on these new systems in the Firaxis Feature Workshop to make sure these options feel meaningful, impactful, and most critical of all – fun to play. 

Victory Changes

Now, let's dive into the big changes coming to Victories. 

Since launch, many players have expressed that Civ VII doesn't quite deliver the feeling of “infinite possibilities” and high replayability. To address this, we've completely reworked how Victories are achieved. This new design puts Victories front and center from the start, requiring you to establish clear, undeniable dominance in one of four categories: Military, Economy, Culture, or Science. You can make progress toward any victory starting in the Antiquity Age, and if you're really ahead, you can now win as early as the Exploration Age.

Importantly, victory can be achieved through participating in a wide range of different activities rather than completing the static requirements of a single Legacy Path. The Cultural Victory, for example, can be achieved through a combination of constructing Wonders, displaying Great Works, having Natural Wonders in your empire, earning Celebrations, and more. The Economic Victory, on the other hand, requires having the strongest economy, measured by assigned Resources, Gold Buildings, Factories, and unloaded Treasure Convoy Cargo. For a Military Victory, it's all about controlling and conquering Settlements. As for the Scientific Victory, it remains an epic Space Race where every major scientific milestone contributes to being the first to launch a mission into space.

We're committed to making sure your win in Civ VII is defined by successfully making interesting choices and giving you lots of possible paths to pursue greatness.

Legacy Paths & Triumphs

Finally, let's talk about Legacy Paths. A major piece of feedback has been that Legacy Paths made Civilization VII feel too rigid, or, as many of our players put it, “railroady.” We've listened to that feedback and have completely removed Legacy Paths, replacing them with an entirely new system called Triumphs.

Unlike Legacy Paths, Triumphs do not dictate your strategic approach. Instead, they offer a wide range of optional, challenging objectives to help each game feel unique. Triumphs are tied to each of the six Attributes: Militaristic, Cultural, Scientific, Economic, Diplomatic, and Expansionist. You'll trigger some Triumphs through normal strong play – like reaching 200 Population or being the first to build a University – while to achieve others you may have to veer onto a less traveled path, such as being At War with every other player or aggressively claiming most of the Natural Wonders. Triumphs reward you with either an instant bonus for your empire or a card that can be used at the start of the next Age to strategically shape your play.

The Test of Time update is absolutely massive, and has been informed entirely by community feedback. This has been a months-long labor of love for the team, and we can't wait for you to get your hands on this free update when it launches in the coming months, and to hear what you think. 

Again, the timing of the Test of Time update as well as the scope & functionality of its features are subject to change as we continue to receive and iterate on community playtest feedback. 

Anniversary Surprises & Thank You!

Before we go, we'd like to share a sneak peek of some of the anniversary moments we have planned over the next two weeks!

First up – don't miss out on our Discord giveaway! We'll be dropping all the details on Discord very soon, so make sure you've joined the community at https://discord.com/invite/civilizationofficial to get your entry in.

We also have a very cuddly surprise in the works. Our friends at Makeship are adding a brand-new mystery plushie to the lineup... we aren't telling you who it is just yet, but can you guess who is getting the plushie treatment?

Also, for iPhone & iPad players out there: Civ VII is hitting Apple Arcade on February 5.* We partnered with our friends over at Behaviour Interactive to handle the heavy lifting on this port, which was great because it let us stay completely focused on the core game while they made sure the mobile version feels right. It looks great, and we hope you'll check it out! 

And one last thing – on February 11, we're sharing a video from our audio team. They're going to take you behind the scenes to show you how they put together the Civ VII soundtrack. It's a massive project, and I think you'll really enjoy seeing how it all came together.

It's been a busy first year, and we couldn't have done it without you. 

On behalf of the entire team at Firaxis Games, I want to say thank you to our player community. Whether you've been with us for 30 years or just a few days, we're grateful for your passion, your feedback, and ongoing support. We look forward to continuing to shape the future of Civ VII and this legendary franchise alongside our player community for years to come. 

*Civilization VII for Apple Arcade does not support multiplayer at launch, and will not receive any DLC seen in Civilization VII on other platforms. Post-launch updates may be excluded or delayed. Large and Huge map types are only available on devices with 8GB+ RAM. For more info, see the Apple Arcade FAQ.