Sid Meier's Civilization 7 was intended to help Firaxis Games get back in shape following the difficulties it's faced with its recent releases. The company's prior title, Marvel's Midnight Suns, was commercially unsuccessful despite receiving positive reviews. Sadly, Civilization 7 has struggled in its own way. Although it has gotten decent ratings from critics, the game has obtained fairly poor user reviews across the board. More than a few months after its launch, in fact, it has a Mixed rating on Steam, with only 48% of players recommending the game.
In spite of all the bad reviews that Civilization 7 has received, Firaxis Games is still releasing paid expansions for Civ 7. Soon, the company is going to launch a Civ 7 DLC pack called the Right to Rule Collection, which will add 4 new civilizations, 4 new wonders, and 2 new leaders to the game, among other things. This DLC pack was originally going to be released in parts from April to September 2025, but it was recently delayed and will now come out sometime in the summer. Firaxis' decision to postpone the Right to Rule Collection was probably the right call to make, as there are a lot of core issues with Civ 7 that the company should address first before trying to release DLCs.
Civilization 7 Releases Major New Update
Firaxis Games unleashes a substantial update for the 4X turn-based strategy game Civilization 7, welcoming a host of new, welcomed features.
Firaxis Made the Right Call By Delaying the Civilization 7 DLC
Civilization 7 Has a Lot of Issues, Including Divisive Design Decisions and Bad UI
Most of the major complaints that people have with Civilization 7 stem from the sweeping changes that Firaxis has made to the traditional Civilization formula. Normally, the leaders in past Civ games were based on real-life rulers and politicians. However, in Civilization 7, people that never ruled a nation in real life, like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman, are classified as Civ 7 leaders. To make matters even more confusing, Civ 7 players can mix and match leaders with unrelated civilizations. This means that a French emperor like Napoleon Bonaparte, for instance, can rule China.
One of Civilization 7's other big issues is its simplification of certain gameplay features, like the historical era system. In the previous Civ games, historical eras were originally divided into several phases, but in Civilization 7, they have been reduced into three different time periods: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages. Firaxis likely made this major change in order to make Civilization 7 more approachable compared to the series' prior entries. However, due to the game's overly complex, unintuitive UI, it is far from accessible to new players.
Civ 7's Base Game Needs Work, So It's Best to Release the DLC Later
Civilization 7's controversial design decisions are having an impact on the overall success of the game. Despite being the series' latest installment, some of the previous Civilization games, like Civ 5 and Civ 6, currently have higher player counts on Steam compared to Civ 7. The negative discourse surrounding Firaxis' latest release has also influenced the general sentiment around the game's paid DLCs. Civilization 7's newly-released Crossroads of the World DLC, for example, has received scathing reviews on Steam, since many have criticized Firaxis' audacity to sell $30 expansions for a game that is regarded as unfinished and broken.
Given the number of problems that Civilization 7 is plagued by, the delay of the Right to Rule Collection is likely a blessing in disguise. Since the DLC has been pushed back a few months, Firaxis Games will now have more time to address the core issues that people have with Civilization 7, like its simplified historical era system and busted UI. By the time that the Right to Rule Collection is released, it's possible that the current sentiment towards Civ 7 will have turned around somewhat.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- 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
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Grand Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, 4X
