"Civ 7's 1.1.1 Update Struggles to Compete with Civ 6 and 15-Year-Old Civ 5 on Steam"

Civilization 7 developer Firaxis has announced a significant update, version 1.1.1, for the recently released strategy game. This update comes at a time when the game is struggling to attract players on Steam, with a 24-hour peak player count of 16,921, failing to break into the platform's top 100 most-played games. In comparison, the older Civilization 5, released in 2010, saw a 24-hour peak of 17,423 players, while Civilization 6 from 2016 had a significantly higher peak of 40,676 players.

In a detailed post on Steam, Firaxis outlined several "additions and refinements" in Update 1.1.1, including:

• Quick Move Functionality
• New Natural Wonder: Mount Everest
• Additional UI Updates & Polish
• Settlement & Commander Renaming
• And more!

Lead designer Ed Beach provided an in-depth overview of these changes in a video, with full patch notes expected soon.

Civilization 7 Update 1.1.1 Patch Notes:

Quick Move Functionality: Now an optional setting that can be toggled in the game’s menu, allowing units to move to their destination immediately for a faster gameplay experience.

New Start Position Option: A new default setting for single-player games called "Standard," which offers more varied and less predictable continents, similar to Civilization 6. For multiplayer, the "Balanced" setting remains to ensure consistent maps and a level playing field.

Settlement and Commander Renaming: Players can now rename their settlements and commanders, adding a personal touch to the game.

Game Restart: Players can restart the game with a click of a button to achieve the perfect first settlement, regenerating the map with new seeds but retaining the same leader and civilization selections.

UI Improvements: The city and town panel now stays open when purchasing items, a new notification alerts players when a city is under attack, there are new indicators for crises, and improved resource tooltips. Significant pacing changes have also been implemented.

New Civilizations and Leader: Alongside the update, Bulgaria, Nepal, and new leader Simón Bolívar are being introduced as part of the paid Crossroads of the World Collection, available from March 25.

Despite these updates, Civilization 7 has received mixed reviews on Steam and a 7/10 from IGN. The game's new mechanics have sparked controversy among series veterans, contributing to its struggle to maintain player numbers. In an interview with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the negative feedback but expressed optimism about the game's future, suggesting that the "legacy Civ audience" would eventually embrace it.

For players looking to master Civilization 7, resources are available to help conquer the world, including guides on achieving every victory type, understanding the biggest changes from Civilization 6, avoiding crucial mistakes, and learning about map types and difficulty settings.