Today is Civilization VII’s one-year anniversary, so it has been a year since developer Firaxis put out one of the most contentious mainline titles in the 4X strategy game’s history. Though not necessarily the first in the series to have had poor reception, pour one out for Civilization: Beyond Earth.
Good news for fans is that Civ VII will be walking back from its more divisive changes as a free update, as previously teased.
The update sure has a punchy name, it’s being dubbed as the “Test Of Time” update. This is in reference to the series’ recurring catchphrase that you’ll hear each time you start a new game: “Can you build a civilization that can last the test of time?”
Ironically, Civ VII featured civ-switching, where you only play as civilizations at its peak, to simulate the rise and fall of civilisations, where one civ evolves into another rather than this one, homogenic representation. Fans outright reject this, so with the “Test Of Time” update, Civ VII will be bringing back the option to play as the same civ across the three Ages.
But with existing civs designed around each Age where each has different Age-wide gameplay mechanics, which means only get their full kit of abilities only during their respective Apex Age (i.e. the Age they were first designed around. Rome’s Apex Age is Antiquity, for example). Outside of the Apex Age, civs get an “Age-appropriate” Civic Tree as well as a new system: Syncretism. This is a cool feature, as to compensate a civ played outside of its Apex Age’s lack of unique ability, you can gain unique units and buildings of other civs that are currently in their Apex Age. Romans can adopt the Spanish Tercio if played during the Exploration Age, for example.
This solves a problem seen in Humankind, the 4X game that introduced the idea of civ-switching. Humankind allowed players to stick to their current culture (civ) but only gain passive bonuses. Civ VII’s solution, on paper, should still make players loyal to their civ of choice just as strong as they enter each new Age.
Another big change the “Test Of Time” update is addressing is the way victory and Legacy Paths are structured. Civ VII’s approach to letting players win is to structure them into a checklist of objectives, which sounds good on paper, but means that repeated playthroughs will see you doing the same thing over and over again, contradicting against the sandboxy nature these games had before.
The new change allows you to start making inroads to victory right at the start of Antiquity Age, and instead of having to wait for the Modern Age to actually win, you can earn victory as soon as the Exploration Age. Players are not tied to having to follow Legacy Paths anymore, so you can pursue the Wonder building race even after Antiquity, as an example, to chase that Cultural victory.
Instead of Legacy Paths, Civ VII will now have Triumphs: big optional challenges that either unlocks naturally through strong play (reach 200 population) or by attempting to do something wild, like be At War with every other competing civ. The Triumphs are designed around the six attributes/playstyles (Militaristic, Cultural, Scientific, Economic, Diplomatic, and Expansionist) and you gain bonuses for completing them.
According to creative director Ed Beach, the “Test Of Time” update is has the design scope of an expansion. And this is for a free update, built with fan feedback in mind. The “Test Of Time” update will launch sometime this spring (Q2 2026).
Firaxis isn’t done with just reworking the whole game as a free update. A new free leader for Civilization VII will be added, and it’s everyone’s favourite gigachad, Gilgamesh. The Civ VII redesign still keeps his muscular chadness (now with visible arm hair) and unlike other freebies previously offered, there’s no catch. No account sign-ups or limited-time claim periods. It’ll be added to the base game for free.
Gilgamesh will arrive alongside Update 1.3.2 which will feature some balance changes as well as a change to AI diplomacy biases, reworked coastal raids (it’ll play more like naval pillagine) and an Appeal Lens to see high Happiness tiles and plan your cities accordingly.
Can Firaxis build a Civilization VII that lasts the test of time? At least for now, we know they’re not giving up yet to regain the goodwill of their best fans.
Civilization VII is out now on PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Civilization VII Arcade Edition, a different version of the game for Apple Arcade, is coming out on February 5. Check out our review of the game based on the 1.0 release here.