Civ 7 Update Adds Giant Maps, Town Specializations & Steam Workshop

Firaxis and 2K are determined to turn things around for Civilization 7 with a comprehensive new update, heavily shaped by player feedback.

This month's substantial Update 1.2.2 introduces a host of long-requested features, including Large and Huge Maps, expanded Advanced Game Options, and the highly anticipated Steam Workshop support. Players will also discover new Town Specializations, City-State Bonuses, Beliefs, balance adjustments, user interface enhancements, and, most importantly, "a very pettable Scout dog."

If you prefer to complete your current save file using an older version, you can access the legacy Steam beta branch. The update maintains backwards compatibility for existing saves, though it's worth noting that "some new abilities or effects may not activate until you begin a new game or progress to the next Age in your current campaign."

"For the optimal experience, we recommend starting a fresh game or continuing your current one into the next Age," Firaxis advised.

Large and Huge map sizes—unfortunately not available on Switch, along with Standard maps—are set for 10 players by default. However, multiplayer sessions are capped at eight participants, including AI-controlled factions. The development team aims to eventually support 12 players on Huge maps but requires "more time to ensure that higher player counts do not affect game stability or performance." To counterbalance the expanded scale, these maps are enriched with additional Pantheons (including two new ones in the Antiquity Age), Religious Beliefs, Discoveries, and City-State bonuses to "ensure there is ample content for every player in a match."

"One of Civilization's greatest strengths is its diversity of playstyles," the update notes. "Some players enjoy peacefully developing their cities, while others prefer global conquest ('Yes, your impressive City would be a fine addition to my empire'). With version 1.2.2, we've incorporated several new advanced game setup options to give you greater control over your experience."

This allows you to enable, disable, or completely remove Legacy Paths per Page, specific Crises, and even turn off Score Victory. You can also adjust AI difficulty settings and bypass Civilization Unlocks during Age Transitions.

"We've enjoyed experimenting with different Legacy Path configurations across Ages. Although non-victory Legacy Paths are always optional, sometimes it's refreshing to disable them entirely and concentrate on leveraging your leader and civilization's unique strengths," Firaxis added. "For a creative sandbox experience we've been testing internally, try disabling Legacy Paths for Antiquity and Exploration Ages and setting the game to Abbreviated Ages. To enhance the sandbox atmosphere further, consider turning off Legacy Paths in the Modern Age and disabling Score Victory as well."

Player feedback on Religion has also prompted revisions. The team has introduced new Beliefs and refined existing ones to provide additional rewards for converting your own Settlements. More significant changes to Religion are planned for the future, with details to be shared later. Town focus bonuses have also been adjusted to make them feel more consequential.

"Urban Centers have been notably enhanced and now have access to many buildings previously exclusive to Cities, such as Libraries and Monuments in Antiquity," the update detailed. "Fort Towns can now purchase multiple walls, enabling them to secure strategic choke points effectively. We've also added a new Town Focus type: the Resort Town. These scenic retreats generate extra Gold and Happiness on Rural tiles with Happiness and provide increased Yields near Natural Wonders.

"Lastly, we observed that clustered Hub Towns were outperforming other options, so we slightly reduced their Influence bonus from +2 per connected Settlement to +1. We will continue monitoring their performance relative to other newly strengthened Towns."

Players can now browse and install mods directly through the Steam Workshop. Additionally, a new loading screen features rewritten and re-recorded narration by Gwendoline Christie.

The update also includes an extensive array of tweaks and bug fixes, far too numerous to list here. For a complete breakdown, visit the official website.

It's no secret that Civilization 7 has faced a challenging debut on Steam. Since its February release, the strategy sequel has struggled to maintain a player base on Valve's platform. Despite multiple patches from Firaxis aimed at improvement, Civilization 7 currently has fewer concurrent Steam players than Civilization 6 and even the 15-year-old Civilization 5. While overall Steam user reviews are 'mixed,' recent feedback from the last 1,500 or so reviews has shifted to 'mostly negative.'

Update 1.2.2 is available now, though Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 players will need to wait as the team works "diligently to navigate the additional submission requirements for Nintendo platforms." Players encountering persistent issues or bugs are advised to disable mods and report them to the development team.

In our review, we found Civilization 7 to be 'good,' awarding it a 7/10. We noted: "Civilization 7's refined warfare mechanics and added narrative elements provide compelling reasons to continue playing late into the night. However, the push to streamline and simplify this iconic 4X series may have gone slightly too far, particularly in terms of the user interface."