Civilization 7 Adds Giant Maps, Specialized Towns, Steam Workshop

Firaxis and 2K are dedicated to revitalizing the experience of Civilization 7 through a comprehensive new update, which has been heavily shaped by player feedback.

This month's substantial Update 1.2.2 introduces a host of highly requested features, such as Large and Huge Maps, expanded Advanced Game Options, and fan-favorite Steam Workshop integration. Players will also discover new Town Specializations, City-State Bonuses, Beliefs, balance adjustments, user interface enhancements, and—most importantly—a very pettable Scout dog.

Those who wish to complete an ongoing save can do so using a previous version via the legacy Steam beta branch. The update supports backward compatibility for existing saves, though please note that certain new abilities or effects may only activate when starting a fresh game or progressing to the next Age in your current playthrough.

"To enjoy the full range of improvements, we recommend beginning a new game or advancing your current save into the next Age," Firaxis advised.

Large and Huge map sizes—unfortunately not available on Nintendo Switch, along with Standard maps—are set for 10 players by default. However, multiplayer sessions are capped at eight, including AI players. The development team intends to expand Huge maps to support up to 12 players in the future, but requires more time to ensure that increased player numbers do not affect game stability. Due to their scale, these maps are enhanced with additional Pantheons, two of which are new to Antiquity, along with new Religious Beliefs, Discoveries, and City-State bonuses, ensuring that every game remains rich in content.

"One of Civilization’s greatest strengths is its diversity of playstyles," the team noted. "While some players enjoy peaceful city-building, others prefer world domination ('Yes, your beautiful City looks even better as part of my empire'). With version 1.2.2, several advanced game setup options have been added, offering greater control over your gameplay experience."

This allows players to enable, disable, or entirely turn off Legacy Paths per Age, specific Crises, and even disable Score Victory. AI difficulty can also be adjusted, and Civilization unlocks on Age transitions can be bypassed.

"We've enjoyed experimenting with Legacy Paths toggled on or off in different Ages. While non-victory Legacy Paths are always optional, it can be refreshing to disable them entirely and focus on leveraging the unique strengths of your leader and civilization," Firaxis added. "For a fun sandbox experience, try turning off Legacy Paths in Antiquity and Exploration Ages while using the Abbreviated Ages setting. To amplify the sandbox feel, you can also disable Legacy Paths in the Modern Age and turn off Score Victory."

Player feedback regarding Religion has led to meaningful changes, including new Beliefs and updates to existing ones that reward players for converting their own Settlements. More extensive updates to Religion are planned for the future. Town focus bonuses have also been adjusted to make them feel more impactful.

"Urban Centers, in particular, have been significantly improved and now gain access to many Buildings previously exclusive to Cities, such as Libraries and Monuments in Antiquity," the update elaborated. "Fort Towns can now purchase multiple walls, allowing them to secure key strategic positions. We’ve also introduced a new Town Focus type: the Resort Town. These scenic retreats generate extra Gold and Happiness on Rural tiles with Happiness and provide increased yields near Natural Wonders.

"Lastly, we felt that massed Hub Towns were dominating other options, so we adjusted their Influence bonus from +2 per connected Settlement to +1. We’ll continue monitoring their performance relative to other newly enhanced Towns."

Players can now easily discover and install mods directly through the Steam Workshop. Additionally, a new loading screen has been introduced, featuring rewritten and re-recorded narration by Gwendoline Christie.

A wide array of tweaks and fixes is also included, far too many to list here. For a complete overview, visit the official website.

Civilization 7’s launch on Steam has been challenging—that much is apparent. Since its release in February, the strategy sequel has struggled to maintain a strong player base on Valve’s platform. Despite several patches from Firaxis aimed at improving the experience, Civilization 7 currently has fewer concurrent Steam players than Civilization 6 and even the 15-year-old Civilization 5. While overall Steam user reviews are 'mixed,' recent feedback from the last 1,500 or so reviews has shifted toward 'mostly negative.'

Update 1.2.2 is available now, though Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 players will experience a slight delay as the team navigates additional platform certification requirements. Players encountering issues or bugs are encouraged to disable mods and report them to the developers.

In our review, we described Civilization 7 as 'good,' awarding it a 7/10, and noted: "Improved warfare mechanics and added narrative elements provide compelling reasons to keep playing late into the night. However, efforts to streamline and simplify this iconic 4X series may have gone too far, particularly in the user interface."