Civilisation 7 didn’t get off to a great start when it launched earlier this year, quickly becoming mired in complaints around its controversial gameplay choices, lack of features, and clumsy UI. But while developer Firaxis is still struggling to win over series fans – particularly on Steam, where its user reviews remain “mixed” – Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick believes Civilisation 7 is still ontrack to hit its lifetime “value” projections.
Civilisation 7 released back in February – Eurogamer called it a “competent [series] entry with some poorly executed ideas and a striking lack of personality” at the time – and criticism from customers soon followed. Complaints were loud enough, particularly among the series’ more visible base of PC players (Civilisation 7 also launched on consoles simultaneously), that Firaxis quickly moved to address fans, promising a programme of fixes that’s still ongoing.
And it appears these early troubles have contributed to what Zelnick has now acknowledged to be a “slow start” for the 4X strategy series’ latest entry – but he remains optimistic about its future. “I think the key thing is that Civ has always been a slow burn,” he told IGN in a recent interview. “It’s always been a title that had – I’m not really a big believer in the long tail theory of the entertainment business – but Civ is an example of that theory. And right now our projections for the lifetime value of the title are very consistent with our initial expectations.”
“So while we were off to a slow start,” he continued, “and while we have had to make changes – and there are more changes coming – I feel like consumer uptake is better and better and we feel really good about the title. I think over time it’s going to take its place in its Civilization pantheon in a very successful, credible way.”
Civilisation 7’s most recent update, officially referred to as version 1.2.3, brought UI and quality-of-life updates, alongside a first round of changes aimed at improving the game’s controversial Age Transitions – changes intended to introduce a greater sense of continuity and connection as Ages shift. It sounds like Firaxis’ most meaningful revisions are still to come however, with the studio confirming it’s currently “in the middle of some deeper work on systems like Ages, replayability, and how players connect with their civ across history”. However, these, it admitted, are “going to take time”.
