Civilization VII Update Lets Players Stick with One Civ Across All Ages as Take-Two Boss Admits: 'We Got It Wrong'

Civilization VII is receiving a major update that finally allows players to remain as a single civilization through all ages, following an admission from Take-Two's CEO that the original design was a misstep. The game, now over a year old, has fewer Steam players than Civilization VI and even the 15-year-old Civilization V. At launch, players criticized the UI, lack of map variety, and missing franchise features, while veteran fans disliked the new Age Transition system that forced civilization swaps. Firaxis has released several updates to address these issues, but the game still holds a 'mixed' Steam rating. In a recent interview, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick took responsibility: 'We got it wrong with Civ VII... it was a bridge too far from the consumer's perspective.' The upcoming Test of Time update (Patch 1.4.0, free on May 19) introduces the option to stay as one civ from Antiquity to Modern Age, along with a reworked Victory system, new Triumphs challenges, a Fractal Continent map, a Commerce screen, revamped Advisor Council, better map generation, new Narrative Events, and a free leader. Whether this will turn around player sentiment and boost numbers remains to be seen.