Civilization VII: The Most Anticipated PC Game of 2025
Civilization VII has been crowned the most anticipated PC game of 2025 by PC Gamer's "Most Wanted" event! The game's Creative Director shed light on innovative mechanics designed to enhance campaign engagement. Read on for details.
A Triumph at the PC Gaming Show
On December 6th, the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, hosted by PC Gamer, announced Civ VII as its top pick for 2025. This prestigious accolade places Civ VII among the 25 most exciting upcoming titles, as selected by The Council – a panel of over 70 developers, content creators, and PC Gamer editors. The nearly three-hour livestream also featured fresh trailers and updates for other games.
Doom: The Dark Ages and Monster Hunter Wilds secured the second and third spots respectively, with Slay the Spire 2 rounding out the top four. Other notable titles on the list included Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, The Thing: Remastered, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Interestingly, Hollow Knight: Silksong was absent from both the list and the event's trailers.
Civilization VII launches simultaneously on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch on February 11, 2025.
A New Era of Campaign Play
In a PC Gamer interview, Civ VII's Creative Director, Ed Beach, unveiled a groundbreaking new campaign mechanic: Ages. This innovative system directly addresses Firaxis Games' data revealing that a significant portion of Civ VI players never completed a full campaign."Our data showed many players never finished a Civilization game," Beach explained. "So we focused on reducing micromanagement and restructuring the game to tackle this head-on."
The Ages mechanic divides campaigns into three distinct chapters: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Players can transition to a new civilization at the end of each Age, mirroring historical shifts in power.
However, civilization selection isn't random; it must be historically or geographically linked to the previous civilization. For instance, the Roman Empire might transition to the French Empire, potentially with the Norman Empire serving as a bridge.
Leaders remain consistent across Ages, maintaining player connection to their empire and rivals. The "overbuild" feature allows players to construct new buildings atop existing ones, while Wonders and some structures remain unchanged.
This new system offers players diverse gameplay experiences within a single campaign, allowing them to manage cultural, military, diplomatic, and economic aspects while maintaining continuity through their chosen leader.
