Civilization 7: everything we know so far

By Jesse Lennox Updated August 29, 2024

A walled city sitting behind a mountain. — 2K Games

The announcement of a new Civilization game is one of the only things that strikes both joy and fear into the hearts of fans in equal measure. On one hand, they know they’re about to begin one of the most engaging, frustrating, rewarding, and deep 4X games ever created. On the other, they know that booting this game up has the mystical power to fast-forward time by multiple hours in the blink of an eye. You might start a game at 9 p.m., planning to play a few rounds, only to look back at the clock and see that it’s 6 a.m. the following morning. Before you start coming up with excuses to get out of work and stockpiling microwavable food, here’s everything we know so far about Civilization 7.

Release date

Two world leaders, Cleopatra and Caesar, going up against each other in front of their flags. — 2K Games

Civilization 7 will launch on February 11, 2025.

Recommended Videos

Platforms

Troops battle across the map. — 2K / 2K

Even though 2025 will be the fifth year of the current generation of consoles, Civilization 7 is already confirmed to be a cross-generational game. It will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and even Nintendo Switch.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Trailers

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Official Teaser Trailer

We got the first teaser trailer for Civilization 7 during the 2024 Summer Game Fest. It is only CGI footage that pans through models of various cultures in battle with a voice-over and no in-game footage.

Additional trailers debuted during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 and are detailed in the Gameplay section below.

Gameplay

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Gameplay Reveal Trailer

As promised, we got our first look at gameplay during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024. After a brief run-through of the series’ history, we finally see Civilization 7 in action. Graphically, it is far superior to any game before it, but it still has that same style and readability, with exaggerated people and a grid-based map. Several civilizations are shown, such as the Aztecs, Egyptians, and ancient Chinese, as well as modern militaries with tanks and planes.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Official Gameplay Showcase

Civilization 7 came back not long after its trailer at Opening Night Live as the subject of a more in-depth stream that goes over gameplay. It also revealed that Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame will be the new narrator.

The gameplay went over a lot of the expected mechanics for a Civ game, such as building your empire and negotiating with other historical figures across history. However, this time around, you can select a leader independently from the civilization you’re leading. This opens up untold possibilities for playstyles and new ways to shape your growing empire.

Multiplayer will allow players to compete in both standard games that can last quite the length of time or shorter single-age sessions. It was also revealed that Civilization 7 will be a cross-platform game.

Preorder

Tanks and planes face off in a battle. — 2K

Civilization 7 has three versions to pick from to preorder on its official site: Standard, Deluxe, and Founders. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Standard: $70

Civilization 7 base game
Tecumeseh and Shawnee preorder bonus

Deluxe: $100

Everything in the Standard Edition
5 days of early access
Crossroads of the World Collection, which includes 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new wonders, and a cosmetic bonus
Deluxe Content Pack, which includes 2 leader personas, 4 profile customizations, 1 alternate scout skin

Founders: $130

Everything in prior Editions
Founders Content Pack, which includes 2 leader personas, 4 profile customizations, 1 fog of war tile set, 1 Founders palace skin
Right to Rule collection post-launch content

Topics

Tech News

Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Gaming

Everything we know about Control 2

Jesse from Control stands in front of a red backdrop.

Alan Wake 2 was the game that fully connected the entire Remedy universe, but it all started with Control. Set in The Oldest House, home of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), Jesse Faden became the new director as she used her transforming gun and powers to defeat the Hiss. A DLC chapter connected her with Alan Wake, and now another piece of DLC for Alan Wake 2 has shifted the focus back on the FBC. Control 2 is the next chapter of this dark and paranormal story unlike anything else on our list of upcoming video games. It will still be a while before we return to the world of altered items of objects of power, so thankfully we have games like Civilization VII and Assassin's Creed Shadows to hold us over, but there's nothing that can scratch that specific itch Control did. This is our declassified document on everything we know about Control 2.

If you're still on the lookout for the best upcoming PS5 games, we've got you covered there too.
Release speculation

Gaming

Death Stranding 2: everything we know so far

Sam Bridges walks on a ridge in front of the moon.

There were plenty of hints along the way, and even some leaks by the leading man himself, but it was only made official at the Game Awards 2022 that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is on its way. Coming from the same influential and creative mind as the original, as well as the Metal Gear franchise before it, Hideo Kojima introduced the game himself. Of course, nothing about Kojima's games are straight forward, and what was revealed about Death Stranding 2 probably raised more questions than it answered. We're strapping on our boots, connecting to our BBs, and are ready to make the trek to find out everything there is about Death Stranding 2.
Release date window

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach only has the wide release window of 2025. During TGS 2024, Kojima did give a small update on the game's progress. He stated that the game is around 30 - 40% done but holds firm that it will hit the 2025 release window.
Platforms

Gaming

Marathon: everything we know so far

A planet floats in the sky in Marathon.

After saying goodbye to the incredible Halo franchise, developer Bungie moved on to break new ground in the live-service space with two Destiny titles (and there's a mobile installment in Destiny: Rising on the way). It has been supporting these two games for nearly a decade now, but we have finally seen what else has been in the works.

To the surprise of many, it is actually a return to the studio's earliest franchise, Marathon. Those original titles were made in the same style as the original Doom games, but this new reboot of sorts is going in a very different direction. And don't forget, Bungie has proven that they're the masters of sci-fi shooters, so let's go the distance and cover everything we know about Marathon.