Civ 7 In 2026

[UWHabs]

My Hopes for the new year:

Fix the pacing for the ages, since the building production nerf, I've found ages seem to be racing by too quickly, I'm hoping for a pace that lets you ease in and enjoy your time in each age.

Crisis overhaul, I wish there were defined routs to better mitigate or overcome a crisis, and on the flip side, a way to absolutely get destroyed by one, I'd like the crisis to come to an end before the end of the age, have you either picking up the pieces before the transition, or gloating over how well you handled it. I'd like actional traditions based on the outcome of the crisis, think Golden/Dark age bonuses from CivVI

Rebalance of influence. There are too many things to spend it on and not enough yield, opportunity decisions should be, which sanctions, which espionage to partake in, not weather I should engage at all. I'm only spending influence on IP and endeavors.
I'd rather a new yield, or a rebalancing to the benefits of spending it in other ways.

I actually think of all the things in the game, influence is one of the better paced ones (sort of). It doesn't grow exponentially, and you do often fight for it.

The biggest part I find lacking is that once the IP race in the age is done, you lose a major use for it. Like for me, I would say in a typical game, I'm struggling through antiquity, exploration I spend about half the age where I am using it up as fast as I get it. And then the second half of exploration I just have nothing to do with it. Especially if I happen to have a setup with hub towns which can give 10 or 15 influence per town, there's times I'm absolutely rolling in it. I do think sanctions and espionage are a little hit or miss to understand - like sometimes I just feel like I'm blowing influence into the air for no reason, other times I'm spending like 120 influence and getting a burst of 3000 science from it.

But yeah, definitely the ages need some pacing. Antiquity is good - more recently I don't find myself with nothing to do, I'm usually trying to get those last items in. Exploration is a joke - my last game I finished it on turn 76, meaning I reached 95% by turn 66. There's just not nearly enough time to solidify yourself, set up your engine, and use it, before time runs out.

And yeah, crisis definitely need some balance to them too. Like in this exploration era, things rushed by so quickly that I never even reached the 3rd stage of the crisis. And you just end up with such an imbalance. Sometimes the crisis is something you have to care about. Other times I pick a policy card that's worth like -6 happiness to a couple cities in my empire that are normally at +50, which means it's nothing to me.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Well I was hoping for a new team. Dont really care what Firaxis does. Game belongs to 2K.

There are civ clones by other studios. Maybe check out Humankind or Ara if you are looking to scratch that civ itch from someone other than Firaxis. But the civ brand has always been a Firaxis property. 2K is not going to outsource civ8 to a different studio, especially not while civ7 is still being updated.

 

[britesparc]

There are civ clones by other studios. Maybe check out Humankind or Ara if you are looking to scratch that civ itch from someone other than Firaxis. But the civ brand has always been a Firaxis property. 2K is not going to outsource civ8 to a different studio, especially not while civ7 is still being updated.

The problem with stuff like Ara or Old World or whatever is they always want to put their own spin on it to make a Civ-adjacent game, so none of them ever really scratch the Civ itch for me. After a certain point I just begin to wonder why I'm not playing Civ.

I want someone to basically do a Call to Power for Civ VI*. Especially with how much Civ VII has changed the formula.

*Or Civ V, but I really like districts and unpacking cities across multiple tiles.

 

[stealth_nsk]

The problem with stuff like Ara or Old World or whatever is they always want to put their own spin on it to make a Civ-adjacent game, so none of them ever really scratch the Civ itch for me. After a certain point I just begin to wonder why I'm not playing Civ.

I want someone to basically do a Call to Power for Civ VI*. Especially with how much Civ VII has changed the formula.

*Or Civ V, but I really like districts and unpacking cities across multiple tiles.

Those companies avoid direct competition with civilization games for a reason. Civilization is huge AAA franchise, with Civ7 having like 2000 people in the titles (sure, most of them are not full-time employees, but it's still huge) and being in development for like 10 years, more independent studios can't afford anything close to those budgets. And it's not only about cheaper graphics and sound (remember Humankind leaders?), it's about gameplay too. For example, players often criticize civilization combat AI, but handling 1UpT combat on full world map even at Civ7 level requires a dedicated team of engineers working for a long time (and adjusting their work as the game changes). That's why many competitors try to simplify combat gameplay in their games (like restricting battlefield in Humankind, or simultaneous combat without tactics at all in Ara).

It was much easier when CtP was released, civilization franchise wasn't THE 4X game yet back then.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Those companies avoid direct competition with civilization games for a reason. Civilization is huge AAA franchise, with Civ7 having like 2000 people in the titles (sure, most of them are not full-time employees, but it's still huge) and being in development for like 10 years, more independent studios can't afford anything close to those budgets. And it's not only about cheaper graphics and sound (remember Humankind leaders?), it's about gameplay too. For example, players often criticize civilization combat AI, but handling 1UpT combat on full world map even at Civ7 level requires a dedicated team of engineers working for a long time (and adjusting their work as the game changes). That's why many competitors try to simplify combat gameplay in their games (like restricting battlefield in Humankind, or simultaneous combat without tactics at all in Ara).

It was much easier when CtP was released, civilization franchise wasn't THE 4X game yet back then.

I am sure there are legal reasons too to make the games different. If these other developpers copy civ too closely they could be sued. Plus, I think other studios want to experiment with their own ideas for the 4X genre to make it their own. I know Amplitude has their own "flavor" with the Endless games which they brought over to Humankind. This is good for gamers as it gives us more variety to choose from. It would be boring if every historical 4X game was a direct copy of civ. But I wonder if maybe some of the criticism towards civ7 is that some players feel like it has departed too far from the classic civ formula. So they feel like the civ franchise is not even given them civ anymore.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I am sure there are legal reasons too to make the games different. If these other developpers copy civ too closely they could be sued. Plus, I think other studios want to experiment with their own ideas for the 4X genre to make it their own. I know Amplitude has their own "flavor" with the Endless games which they brought over to Humankind.

Legal restrictions are pretty limited. Gameplay mechanics can't be patented directly (in US this sometimes is circumvented by disguising game mechanics as technical solutions, but this has limited application). I know Firaxis holds some patent related to game controller usage, not sure about the rest. Game world/setting is also subject of copyright, but for a game with historical basis there's little to do.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. Of course you can't copy the game 1:1 with all the stats, units, etc. But making something which would look like one of the games in civilization franchise is legally not a problem.

 

[marius_kaparius]

In 2026 I would like:
- Goths
- Hotseat
- Revised Victory Conditions and Crises
- New Africa Civs - surprise me
- Scenarios
- Ireland and Italy surely?
- Canals and tunnels

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Legal restrictions are pretty limited. Gameplay mechanics can't be patented directly (in US this sometimes is circumvented by disguising game mechanics as technical solutions, but this has limited application). I know Firaxis holds some patent related to game controller usage, not sure about the rest. Game world/setting is also subject of copyright, but for a game with historical basis there's little to do.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. Of course you can't copy the game 1:1 with all the stats, units, etc. But making something which would look like one of the games in civilization franchise is legally not a problem.

I was talking about copying the game 1:1. That would not be allowed. Ultimately, it would boil down to how similar the games are. As you alluded to, since both games have a historical setting, some similarities would be allowed. Both games can have Rome as a playable civ. Both games can have swordsmen or riflemen. Both games can have historical leaders like Cleo or Roosevelt. Both games can have the great pyramids as a wonder that gives you bonuses. But maybe if you copied the same bonuses for all the world wonders, that might be a bit more iffy. Although perhaps good lawyers would argue that the bonuses simply reflect real life effects in history and that is why they coincidentally happen to be the same. Again, it would depend how similar the games are. If the civs were copied 1:1 or entire game mechanics or graphics and art was copied 1:1, I think that would be problematic. It would depend on which elements simply come from the common historical setting and which elements were actually borrowed from the other studio.

 

[stealth_nsk]

I was talking about copying the game 1:1.

Yeah, direct copying is not allowed, but we talked about CtP and I think that level of copying is possible.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Yeah, direct copying is not allowed, but we talked about CtP and I think that level of copying is possible.

Yes, a game like CtP is allowed as long as it does not use the name "civilization".

I wonder if civ7 departing a bit from the classic civ formula actually makes it easier for a company to do a more classic style civ game, like CtP. The company could argue that they are not copying civ7 but rather paying homage to classic civ from yesteryear.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Yes, a game like CtP is allowed as long as it does not use the name "civilization".

I wonder if civ7 departing a bit from the classic civ formula actually makes it easier for a company to do a more classic style civ game, like CtP. The company could argue that they are not copying civ7 but rather paying homage to classic civ from yesteryear.

If you create your own mix of older game mechanics and concept, it will not be a problem legally. The main problem, as I said, is the budget.

 

[uppi]

If you create your own mix of older game mechanics and concept, it will not be a problem legally. The main problem, as I said, is the budget.

Budget is one issue, but competition with the Civ series is another big problem. Your target audience either already owns Civ IV or can get it for 5€ on Steam right now. You would have a hard time convincing them to buy a Civ IV clone at full price, especially since a new game would come with less leaders, less civs and more bugs. You would have to change something up, come up with something new so that people can see the improvement. But go too far into that direction and you might lose the audience you would be going for.

 

[Smegger213]

Budget is one issue, but competition with the Civ series is another big problem. Your target audience either already owns Civ IV or can get it for 5€ on Steam right now. You would have a hard time convincing them to buy a Civ IV clone at full price, especially since a new game would come with less leaders, less civs and more bugs. You would have to change something up, come up with something new so that people can see the improvement. But go too far into that direction and you might lose the audience you would be going for.

I think I would rather have a Civ IV remaster with today's graphics than a Civ 8.

 

[stealth_nsk]

Budget is one issue, but competition with the Civ series is another big problem. Your target audience either already owns Civ IV or can get it for 5€ on Steam right now. You would have a hard time convincing them to buy a Civ IV clone at full price, especially since a new game would come with less leaders, less civs and more bugs. You would have to change something up, come up with something new so that people can see the improvement. But go too far into that direction and you might lose the audience you would be going for.

I don't think releasing the game without any improvements would make sense. There are clear problems in previous titles, which are better to solve. Even if you make game close to Civ6, but with Civ7 commanders and Civ7 diplomacy, you'll already find some audience. Including people who own both of those games.

 

[Lebo44]

There’s clearly strong demand for Civilization‑style games, even ones that aren’t technically (graphically) advanced. Just look at Unciv's numbers. If AI is right it was created by a small studio (if not by single dev) and already built a strong fanbase.

 

[Gorbles]

I think I would rather have a Civ IV remaster with today's graphics than a Civ 8.

I can't think of anything that'd sell less. Why pay more a prettier version of something that already exists with decades of mod support? Getting everyone to move over would take a massive amount of effort - it's not like anyone is playing unmodded Civ IV in any great numbers.

This is before we get into what "today's graphics" mean, as someone who's sat through the full game cycle of: VI getting dunked for its graphics, people coming around to VI's graphics, and now people saying that VII is too realistic and that things don't stand out enough.

 

[Smegger213]

I can't think of anything that'd sell less. Why pay more a prettier version of something that already exists with decades of mod support? Getting everyone to move over would take a massive amount of effort - it's not like anyone is playing unmodded Civ IV in any great numbers.

This is before we get into what "today's graphics" mean, as someone who's sat through the full game cycle of: VI getting dunked for its graphics, people coming around to VI's graphics, and now people saying that VII is too realistic and that things don't stand out enough.

Because, although I loved Civ 4 back in the day. I don't play it any more. Poor graphics compared to today's standards put me off. That's my opinion. There's a good few games that I own but no longer play due to old graphics etc.
Plus, some older games no longer work correctly on modern systems.

 

[stealth_nsk]

There’s clearly strong demand for Civilization‑style games, even ones that aren’t technically (graphically) advanced. Just look at Unciv's numbers. If AI is right it was created by a small studio (if not by single dev) and already built a strong fanbase.

View attachment 751738

The problem is that the game is free, which means it's not an indicator for any commercial sales. I mean there's clear a market, but it's better to look at numbers of Humankind - I think it's the most civ-like experience among commercial games.

 

[Gorbles]

Because, although I loved Civ 4 back in the day. I don't play it any more. Poor graphics compared to today's standards put me off. That's my opinion. There's a good few games that I own but no longer play due to old graphics etc.
Plus, some older games no longer work correctly on modern systems.

I get why you'd personally want to. I struggle with a fair few older games for the same reason.

But I don't see it as viable, and that's coming from a big fan of Dawn of War: Definitive Edition (a technical uplift of a relatively niche 20yo RTS game).

Then again, Age of Empires II: DE worked a treat. AoE III: DE was less successful, but it always had a more polarising design (I don't think it was bad at all - underappreciated, even). But the graphics there were improved, but kept technically very similar. Still sprite-based, similar UI, etc.

 

[Lebo44]

I can't think of anything that'd sell less. Why pay more a prettier version of something that already exists with decades of mod support?

It’s not just about aesthetics. It’s also about bringing in a modern UI (like a dedicated window for designing Stacks of Doom), improving performance on modern machines/laptops/mobile devices, adding new civilizations to the default roster, new modding tools, fixing long‑standing issues, and potentially introducing features from later installments.