Civilization 7 developer Firaxis has announced a significant update, version 1.1.1, which arrives amidst a challenging period for the game on Steam. Despite its recent release, Civilization 7 has not managed to surpass the player counts of its predecessors, Civilization 6 and Civilization 5. On Steam, Civilization 7's 24-hour peak player count stands at 16,921, which falls short of making it into the platform's top 100 most-played games. In comparison, Civilization 5, released back in 2010, achieved a 24-hour peak of 17,423 players, while Civilization 6, released in 2016, saw a peak of 40,676 players within the same timeframe.
Firaxis detailed the upcoming "additions and refinements" in Update 1.1.1 through a post on Steam, highlighting features such as:
- Quick Move Functionality
- New Natural Wonder Mount Everest
- Additional UI Updates & Polish
- Settlement & Commander Renaming
- And more!
Lead designer Ed Beach provided a detailed walkthrough of these changes in a video, also pointing to the comprehensive patch notes, which are expected to be released soon.
Civilization 7 Update 1.1.1 Patch Notes:
Quick Move: Now an optional setting that can be toggled in the game menu, allowing units to move to their destination immediately for a faster gameplay experience.
Start Position Option: A new default setting for single-player games called "Standard," which offers varied and less predictable continents, similar to Civilization 6. Multiplayer games retain the "Balanced" setting for consistent map generation.
Renaming Settlements and Commanders: Players can now rename their settlements and commanders, adding a personal touch to their game. Additionally, players can restart the game to achieve the perfect first settlement with new map seeds but retain their chosen leader and civilization.
UI Improvements: Enhancements include a persistent city and town panel during purchases, new notifications for city attacks, improved indicators for crises, and better resource tooltips. The update also includes significant pacing changes to enhance the gameplay flow.
New Civilizations and Leaders: Alongside the update, new civilizations Bulgaria and Nepal, and a new leader, Simón Bolívar, are introduced as part of the paid Crossroads of the World Collection, available from March 25.
Civilization 7 has sparked controversy among series veterans due to its new mechanics, and its performance on Steam has been underwhelming, with a 'mixed' user review rating and a 7/10 score from IGN. In an interview with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the negative feedback but remains optimistic, suggesting that the "legacy Civ audience" will eventually embrace the game as they play more, describing its early performance as "very encouraging."
For players looking to master Civilization 7, our comprehensive guides cover everything from achieving every victory type, understanding the significant changes from Civilization 6, avoiding common mistakes, and exploring the various map types and difficulty settings.
