Yes, pretty much the whole distant lands mechanic seems half baked at the moment, like the vast majority of every single cross-platform AAA game that isn't ready at launch these days.
I heard MSFS 2024 is still on "update 0" so at least civ 7 is playable even though Firaxis did an awful job finishing the game for launch.
Yeah obviously. But just as obviously, Firaxis is cynical with its cash cow and probably plans to release "Information Age" as the headline feature of an expansion. The base game cost $70-$120 to basically end in 1945. It's fun, but they're screwing as usual (bad launch experience, overpriced, etc)