Civilization 7 Outlines Crucial 1.1.1 Update as It Struggles to Compete on Steam Against Civ 6 and Even the 15-Year-Old Civ 5

Firaxis, the developer behind Civilization 7, has announced a significant update, version 1.1.1, aimed at enhancing the gameplay experience of the newly released strategy game. This update comes at a time when Civilization 7 is struggling to attract players on Steam, with a 24-hour peak player count of 16,921, falling short of even the 15-year-old Civilization 5, which saw a peak of 17,423 players. Meanwhile, Civilization 6, released in 2016, continues to dominate with a 24-hour peak of 40,676 players, indicating that most fans are sticking with the previous installment.

In a Steam post, Firaxis detailed several "additions and refinements" included in Update 1.1.1, such as:

• Quick Move Functionality
• New Natural Wonder Mount Everest
• Additional UI Updates & Polish
• Settlement & Commander Renaming
• And more!

Lead designer Ed Beach provided a more in-depth look at these changes in a video, referencing the full patch notes, which are expected to be released soon.

Civilization 7 Update 1.1.1 Patch Notes:

The Quick Move feature is now an optional setting that can be toggled in the game's menu, allowing units to move to their destination instantly for a faster gameplay experience.

A new start position option related to map generation has been introduced. The default setting for single-player games is now Standard, offering more varied and less predictable continents, similar to Civilization 6. For multiplayer games, the Balanced setting remains to ensure a level playing field with consistent maps.

Players can now rename settlements and commanders, adding a personal touch to their gameplay. Additionally, a restart button allows players to recreate the map with new seeds while retaining their chosen leader and civilization.

UI improvements include a city and town panel that remains open during purchases, new notifications for cities under attack, indicators for crises, and enhanced resource tooltips. The update also brings significant pacing changes to the game.

Alongside the update, a new civilization, Bulgaria, joins Nepal and the new leader Simón Bolívar in the paid Crossroads of the World Collection, available as of March 25.

Civilization 7 has faced criticism from series veterans due to its new mechanics and has struggled to maintain player numbers on Steam, where it holds a 'mixed' user review rating and received a 7/10 from IGN. In a recent interview with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the negative feedback but expressed optimism about the game's future, suggesting that the "legacy Civ audience" will eventually embrace it. He described Civilization 7's early performance as "very encouraging."

For players looking to master the game, our comprehensive guides cover everything from achieving every victory type in Civilization 7, understanding the significant changes from Civilization 6, avoiding common mistakes, to exploring the various map types and difficulty settings.