Developer Firaxis Games and publisher 2K celebrated the 35th anniversary of Sid Meier’s Civilization by announcing a new free update and the first expansion to Civilization VII.
The big free update and paid expansion will be coming in 2027. There will also be a game update coming later this month, Update 1.5.0.
Civilization VII Arc Of Tomorrow Update – New Atomic Age To Be Added In 2027
The big free update to Civ VII that will arrive in 2027, Arc Of Tomorrow, adds a whole new Age: The Atomic Age. Approximating the world from the 1950s to the 2050s, this new Age will have “period-specific gameplay, buildings, units, visuals, music, civilisations, leaders and more.”
For context, the new Age system in Civilization VII divides human history into three distinct ages: Antiquity, Exploration and Modern ages. Exploration Age feature what historians consider the medieval age and until the end of the Renaissance, while Antiquity is the period of time before the medieval times and Modern refers to historical modern age that follows after the Industrial Revolution up to World War II, just right after nuclear bombs.
An extra Age that covers history up to contemporary times is an expected addition, though it being a free update instead of a paid expansion is a nice gesture, given how Civ VII is still battling against fan expectations. Plus, one of the new leaders confirmed coming with the Atomic Age is recurring Civ favourite: Mahatma Gandhi. Fitting, considering the Atomic Age will feature nuclear warfare and “a new twist on mutually assured destruction.” Nukes only land in the next turn of its launch, so the target of a nuclear attack can use that one turn warning to also launch nukes back at the attack civ.
To note: the real Gandhi wasn’t a nuclear warmonger, but a developer oversight in making Gandhi very prone to nuke someone in the original Civilization has since become a recurring, history-breaking gag in this historical 4X game.
Some of the new gameplay features exclusive to the new Atomic Age include nuclear warfare, the ability to recognise independence of your own Settlements and city-states (as a way to manage empire size and loyalty), Great Works of Film to be produced by sending Film Crews around the world, and Manufactured Goods where you can produce specific new resources by combining specific commodities by following a recipe.
While nukes have been an option in previous games, the other new gameplay systems in the Atomic Age are all new takes. Though the Great Works Of Film may seem like another tedious build-a-bunch-of-civilian-unit-and-send-them-out gameplay seen in most cultural play styles in Civ VII.
Civilization VII Earthrise Announced
The new paid expansion to Civilization VII, Civilization VII Earthrise, is themed around “historic space race and deploying missions across the solar system.” New space-related gameplay systems will be added across the four Ages, from charting the night skies and naming celestial bodies during the Antiquity and Exploration Ages, to launching orbital missions during the Modern Age, to establishing a space agency to explore the solar system and bring back resources during the Atomic Age.
Earthrise will also gameplay based on altering the terrain and bonuses of a tile. This includes adding measures to stop Natural Disasters. And that also means the return of global warming as a game mechanic, which can be reversed.
More details of Earthrise will be revealed down the line, but it’s also releasing in 2027. Earthrise will launch after the Arc Of Tomorrow update, so you have time to try out the Atomic Age in a vanilla Civ VII game.
Civilization VII Update 1.5.0 Releasing This September
While the big free Arc Of Tomorrow update and Earthrise expansion are still far off the horizon, a new game update to Civilization VII is coming later this month.
Update 1.5.0 includes improvements to the map generation, the addition of an Earth map with True Start Location, a change in resource generation and improved UI.
The True Start Location options will see civs start at their historical start on Earth, land features and resources placed on real Earth, natural wonders spawn in their natural locations though not all natural wonders are in play every game. It’s a commonplace feature in past Civ games, and while not everyone makes use of it, the people who really love Civ games missed it sorely, so it’s nice that this gets added.
Also, there is some changes to the Diplomacy. You can now opt to not join an ally who is waging war without breaking the alliance by spending Influence. Now, if there’s a way to convince your ally to participate in the war and contribute something to the effort…
Civilization VII launched with mixed reception, as the turn-based strategy game took a big swing by rejigging a large amount of historical game’s core systems. Early this year, Civ VII ended up walking back against civ-switching as a mandatory feature, letting you play as any civ at any Age. It’s a step in the right direction in that it changes some of the less-desired feature, but Civ VII still has mixed reception based on player reviews on Steam, as well as general discourse of the game among fans.
Civilization VII is out now on PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Mac and Linux (Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2