Three months after its release, Civilization 7 is not unanimously acclaimed. Despite its ambitions, Firaxis's new opus is struggling to convince players. The interface has been criticized, features are missing, and mechanics are controversial. The studio wanted to modernize its formula. But the result is divisive.
A redesign that doesn't work for Civilization 7
From the moment it was announced, Civilization 7 had big ambitions. New city management, a redesigned era system, a lighter interface... The goal was clear: to make the game more accessible and more dynamic. But by dint of trying to simplify, Firaxis seems to have lost part of the series' soul. Many miss the tactical depth of the older installments. Others point to a lack of polish, particularly with the absence of team multiplayer or the simple ability to rename cities.
The reception on Steam speaks for itself. Only 48% of reviews are positive. And if we look at recent reviews, this figure drops to 41%. A low score for such an iconic license. But that's not all. On May 13, Civilization 7 fell below the 5,000 simultaneous connected players mark. For comparison, Civilization 6 has around 23,000 players, and Civ 5 still has nearly 10,000. In other words, a good portion of the community seems to prefer to stick with the older games.
Firaxis remains confident
Despite this difficult start, publisher Take-Two remains optimistic. Its CEO, Strauss Zelnick, points out that each new Civilization has experienced a phase of skepticism. According to him, sales are good, and history shows that the series often ends up winning back its audience over time. He admits, however, that adjustments are still necessary. Several updates have already been deployed. And others are in preparation to improve usability and enrich the content.
So all is not lost for Civ 7. The world of video games is full of titles that have managed to revive after a failed launch. No Man's Sky, Sea of Thieves, Cyberpunk 2077… Firaxis could well follow the same path. But for that, the studio will have to listen to its community. And above all, prove that it can reconcile accessibility and rich gameplay.
Source: Steam/Take Two
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