Firaxis Games released a detailed message addressing many of the critical and fan feedback to Sid Meier’s Civilization 7’s “Advance Access.”
The message comes after many negative user reviews brought the coveted Steam rating down to a Mixed rating, despite generally high reviews from critics (our own review is still in progress).
The Advance Access refers to an early access period for owners of the Digital Deluxe and Founder’s Editions, who can play the game five days before the standard edition release, on Tuesday, February 11.
Over the last few days, the team has been poring over your feedback, including our most recent Steam Reviews during the Early Access period. As stewards of the Civilization franchise, we hold ourselves to a high standard and always strive to create the best game possible. Civ would not have come this far without you, and your opinions matter greatly to us.
The message details three specific points of feedback the team is addressing: UI improvements, community requested features (which are actually multiple points, but whatever), and various bug fixes and improvements (which are also multiple points!).
The UI is the team’s “top priority.” Improvements include “making UI interactions more intuitive, improving map readability, and fixing areas of polish like formatting.” This one is pretty damning, as the interface is a major part of a 4X strategy game, and Civ is the grandfather of the entire genre.
The community-requested features also include a lot of basic stuff that Civ fans have come to expect, such as team games in multiplayer, more map types, and customized city names.
Patch 1.1 is “already well underway,” and should be coming in March. The patch includes UI improvements, AI balance, and bug fixes.
Civilization 6 received 10 years of patches, updates, and DLC, and there’s no reason to think Civ 7 won’t receive similar long-lasting treatment. But it’s disappointing such a highly anticipated sequel of a major franchise is stumbling out of the gate.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 will officially release on Feb. 11 on PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox. It’s rated E10+.
