Sid Meier’sCivilization 7was intended to help Firaxis Games get back in shape following the difficulties it’s faced with its recent releases. The company’s prior title,Marvel’s Midnight Suns, was commercially unsuccessful despite receiving positive reviews. Sadly,Civilization 7has struggled in its own way. Although it has gotten decent ratings from critics, the game has obtained fairly poor user reviews across the board. More than a few months after its launch, in fact, it has a Mixed rating on Steam, with only 48% of players recommending the game.
In spite of all the bad reviews thatCivilization 7has received, Firaxis Games is still releasingpaid expansions forCiv 7. Soon, the company is going to launch aCiv 7DLC pack called the Right to Rule Collection, which will add 4 new civilizations, 4 new wonders, and 2 new leaders to the game, among other things. This DLC pack was originally going to be released in parts from April to September 2025, but it was recently delayed and will now come out sometime in the summer. Firaxis' decision to postpone the Right to Rule Collection was probably the right call to make, as there are a lot of core issues withCiv 7that the company should address first before trying to release DLCs.
Firaxis Made the Right Call By Delaying the Civilization 7 DLC
Most of the major complaints that people have withCivilization 7stem from the sweeping changes that Firaxis has made to the traditionalCivilizationformula. Normally, the leaders in pastCivgames were based on real-life rulers and politicians. However, inCivilization 7, people that never ruled a nation in real life, like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman,are classified asCiv 7leaders. To make matters even more confusing,Civ 7players can mix and match leaders with unrelated civilizations. This means that a French emperor like Napoleon Bonaparte, for instance, can rule China.
One ofCivilization 7’s other big issues is its simplification of certain gameplay features, like the historical era system. In the previousCivgames, historical eras were originally divided into several phases, butinCivilization 7, they have been reduced into three different time periods: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages. Firaxis likely made this major change in order to makeCivilization 7more approachable compared to the series' prior entries. However, due to the game’s overly complex, unintuitive UI, it is far from accessible to new players.
Civ 7’s Base Game Needs Work, So It’s Best to Release the DLC Later
Civilization 7’s controversial design decisions are having an impact on the overall success of the game. Despite being the series' latest installment,some of the previousCivilizationgames, likeCiv 5andCiv 6, currently have higher player counts on Steam compared toCiv 7. The negative discourse surrounding Firaxis' latest release has also influenced the general sentiment around the game’s paid DLCs.Civilization 7’s newly-released Crossroads of the World DLC, for example, has received scathing reviews on Steam, since many have criticized Firaxis' audacity to sell $30 expansions for a game that is regarded as unfinished and broken.
Given the number of problems thatCivilization 7is plagued by, the delay of the Right to Rule Collection is likely a blessing in disguise. Since the DLC has been pushed back a few months, Firaxis Games will now have more time to addressthe core issues that people have withCivilization 7, like its simplified historical era system and busted UI. By the time that the Right to Rule Collection is released, it’s possible that the current sentiment towardsCiv 7will have turned around somewhat.
