As Civilization 7 Dataminers Discover Reference to the Atomic Age, Firaxis Says 'We're Excited for Where This Is Going'

Civilization 7's Unannounced Fourth Age: Datamining and Developer Teases

Civilization 7 dataminers have uncovered evidence suggesting a fourth, currently unannounced, Age is in the works. This aligns with hints dropped by Firaxis in an interview with IGN.

Currently, Civilization 7 features three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Each Age concludes with an Age Transition, a unique feature in the Civilization series. This transition involves selecting a new civilization, choosing which Legacies to carry over, and witnessing a game-world evolution.

The Modern Age, as confirmed by lead designer Ed Beach, concludes with World War II. Beach explained Firaxis's decision to end the game at this point, citing historical analysis and the desire to create distinct chapters with unique gameplay mechanics for each Age. The team strategically chose historical turning points to mark the end of each Age, ensuring gameplay changes reflected real-world shifts in power dynamics, diplomacy, and warfare. The Cold War era was deliberately excluded due to its distinct differences from the preceding Modern Age.

While executive producer Dennis Shirk remained tight-lipped about specifics, he hinted at the possibilities for future expansion, emphasizing the potential of each Age’s unique systems, visuals, units, and civilizations.

Further fueling speculation, datamining efforts by Reddit user ManByTheRiver11 revealed references to an "Atomic Age," including mentions of new leaders and civilizations – a common strategy for Firaxis' DLC releases. This Atomic Age would logically follow the current Modern Age's conclusion.

In the meantime, Firaxis is actively working to address player concerns that have resulted in mixed Steam reviews. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the negative feedback but expressed confidence in the game's long-term success, highlighting the positive early performance and predicting a shift in player sentiment with continued gameplay.

For those seeking to conquer the world in Civilization 7, resources are available, including guides on achieving all victory types, understanding changes from Civilization VI, avoiding common mistakes, and navigating map types and difficulty settings.