Publisher 2K and developer Firaxis Games have announced a major anniversary update for Civilization VII’s first year anniversary, adding the much-demanded ability to play as a single Civ through a game campaign.

The new update is appropriately dubbed the “Test of Time” update and will let players finally play through the entire game as one civilization and its leader.

A release wasn’t announced for the above update but a smaller 1.3.2 update was revealed, bringing with it gameplay rebalances, tweaks, fixes, and the free new civ leader Gilgamesh as a thank you to fans. The update is available now.

Here’s a rundown on all the new changes and content, plus a video recap with creative director Ed Breach:

Playing as the Same Civ Through All the Ages

First, let’s dig into the biggest change we’re testing in the Firaxis Feature Workshop, and one of the most-requested community features: the ability to play as one civilization throughout the whole game.

With Civilization VII, our goal has always been to deliver a more dynamic empire-building experience, where your civilization evolves and reinvents itself over time. That said, we also heard loud and clear that many players want to lead a single civilization from its early beginnings to an advanced empire. 

In the Test of Time update you’ll be able to start a game with any civ from any Age. There’s now a new choice to make during the Age Transition process: select a new civ, as you do today, or continue playing as the same civilization into the next Age. AI opponents will follow the player’s lead here, either remaining as a single civ or switching to a new one in corresponding fashion. To be clear, this is not a new game mode; continuing as the same civ or choosing to switch will be entirely at your discretion — whatever feels best for your strategic and story-telling needs at that moment in time.

We’re introducing some new concepts to Civ VII to make playing any civ in any Age possible. Let’s step through an example of how these new concepts work. 

Let’s say you begin a game as Rome in the Antiquity Age. Because this is the Age in which Rome was at the height of its power (and is the default Age in which you can play as Rome in Civ VII today), this is Rome’s Apex Age – the sole Age where this civ gets its full, unique kit. Every civ will have a single Apex Age through a full Civ VII campaign.

Upon transitioning from the Antiquity Age to the Exploration Age, let’s say you decide to continue playing as Rome instead of selecting a different civ to represent your empire. 

Civs played outside of their Apex Age retain a core, defining part of their kit and gain a new Age-appropriate Civic Tree. In our example, this tree includes a unique node, Roman Renaissance, that lets you optionally unlock more Age-appropriate Roman perks, as well as two nodes based on your civ’s attributes – in Rome’s case that’s Cultural and Militaristic. These attribute-based nodes are common for all civs outside of their Apex Age, providing perks that are relevant for the current Age’s mechanics. 

But that’s not all! As a civ outside of its Apex Age, you can further bolster your capabilities through a new system called Syncretism – the ultimate tool for the strategic tinkerer.

Syncretism allows you to create all-new builds by enabling you to study a Mastery on your new unique Civic node, and adopt the Unique Units or Infrastructure from another civilization currently in its Apex Age. As Rome in the Exploration Age, for example, you may consider empowering your militaristic pursuits by adopting the Spanish Tercio to enhance Rome’s infantry flanking strategy, or maybe instead Norman’s Motte and Bailey to amass Culture while providing defensive Fortifications. You can choose the unique military or Infrastructure from any associated civilization, but you can only do this once per Age, so choose wisely!

This Rome example, of course, would extend into the Modern Age. It’s also important to note that you can start a game in Antiquity with a civilization from any Age, including civs that today are unique to the Exploration or Modern Ages. The same rules apply backwards in time.

The hopeful result of these updates is that the options are in your hands. You can play Rome (or any other civ!) for every turn, making strategic, adaptive choices through a full campaign. Or, you can embrace the dramatic shift of playing a new civ when it suits your strategy or empire’s story. We’re gathering feedback on these new systems in the Firaxis Feature Workshop to make sure these options feel meaningful, impactful, and most critical of all – fun to play. 

Victory Changes

Now, let’s dive into the big changes coming to Victories. 

Since launch, many players have expressed that Civ VII doesn’t quite deliver the feeling of “infinite possibilities” and high replayability. To address this, we’ve completely reworked how Victories are achieved. This new design puts Victories front and center from the start, requiring you to establish clear, undeniable dominance in one of four categories: Military, Economy, Culture, or Science. You can make progress toward any victory starting in the Antiquity Age, and if you’re really ahead, you can now win as early as the Exploration Age.

Importantly, victory can be achieved through participating in a wide range of different activities rather than completing the static requirements of a single Legacy Path. The Cultural Victory, for example, can be achieved through a combination of constructing Wonders, displaying Great Works, having Natural Wonders in your empire, earning Celebrations, and more. The Economic Victory, on the other hand, requires having the strongest economy, measured by assigned Resources, Gold Buildings, Factories, and unloaded Treasure Convoy Cargo. For a Military Victory, it’s all about controlling and conquering Settlements. As for the Scientific Victory, it remains an epic Space Race where every major scientific milestone contributes to being the first to launch a mission into space.

We’re committed to making sure your win in Civ VII is defined by successfully making interesting choices and giving you lots of possible paths to pursue greatness.

Legacy Paths & Triumphs

Finally, let’s talk about Legacy Paths. A major piece of feedback has been that Legacy Paths made Civilization VII feel too rigid, or, as many of our players put it, “railroady.” We’ve listened to that feedback and have completely removed Legacy Paths, replacing them with an entirely new system called Triumphs.

Unlike Legacy Paths, Triumphs do not dictate your strategic approach. Instead, they offer a wide range of optional, challenging objectives to help each game feel unique. Triumphs are tied to each of the six Attributes: Militaristic, Cultural, Scientific, Economic, Diplomatic, and Expansionist. You’ll trigger some Triumphs through normal strong play – like reaching 200 Population or being the first to build a University – while to achieve others you may have to veer onto a less traveled path, such as being At War with every other player or aggressively claiming most of the Natural Wonders. Triumphs reward you with either an instant bonus for your empire or a card that can be used at the start of the next Age to strategically shape your play.

The Test of Time update is absolutely massive, and has been informed entirely by community feedback. This has been a months-long labor of love for the team, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on this free update when it launches in the coming months, and to hear what you think. 

Again, the timing of the Test of Time update as well as the scope & functionality of its features are subject to change as we continue to receive and iterate on community playtest feedback. 

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII has been availablefor Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, and PS5. Get our review here!