Firaxis tried something new with Civilization 7’s Ages system, and although the studio’s willingness to experiment with its decades-old grand strategy series is commendable, the evolution hasn’t been the biggest of hits.
As a result, Firaxis has been working on options that remake Civ 7 into something more like its still-popular older siblings, and just announced that “one of the most requested features” is being tested internally: the option to play as one civ from start to finish.
Civ 7’s Ages system divides games into three historical phases, and a lot happens in the transitions between them: Wars end, important variables are reset, and most importantly, players pick a new civilization to lead in the next age.
It’s a more historical approach to grand strategy, in that you can no longer found the United States at the same time as the invention of agriculture, and was one way Firaxis hoped to encourage players to actually finish the games they started rather than getting bored and bailing prematurely (which it noticed a lot of us doing). But the player preference seems clear, as both Civ 5 and Civ 6 are reliably beating Civ 7’s Steam concurrents.
In its effort to give the people what they want, Firaxis has already introduced an option called Continuity Mode that keeps wars going between Age transitions, and now says it’s testing “ways to play as one civ continuously through the ages, allowing you to choose a civilization from any Age and guide them throughout your journey through history.”
Firaxis hasn’t yet explained how this will work, and warns that we should “imagine a big ‘subject to change’ stamp” on everything it’s said so far, though I highly doubt that the feature itself will be abandoned now that it’s been teased.
I imagine some Frankensteining will be necessary, as Modern Age civs like the French Empire will need to borrow buildings, units, and bonuses from Exploration and Antiquity Age civs, and vice versa, but the studio could have a more surprising solution in mind.
I hope it works out, because there is a lot to like in Civ 7—I prefer the art style over Civ 6, for one thing—and it’d be a shame if it never found a more solid footing among series fans.
Firaxis says it’ll be testing its solution “over the next few months” via a new initiative, the Firaxis Feature Workshop, which will allow “a small number of community members to go hands-on with features still in development.”
That testing will be coordinated through the official Discord, and application instructions will come alongside a game update next week. For those already playing Civ 7, that update has a naval flavor, adding a new Harbor building, Privateer unit, new sea resources, and more that you can read about on the official blog.
