Take-Two Confident in Civilization 7 Despite Slow Start and Mixed Reviews

Civilization 7 didn’t get off to a great start when it launched earlier this year. Reviews were mixed, and its debut brought criticism over gameplay choices, missing features, and a clumsy interface. Despite this, Take-Two’s boss believes Civilization 7 will still hit its lifetime target thanks to its long tail appeal. Civ 7 reviews remain a mixed bag on Steam, especially among PC players, but now Firaxis is pushing updates, hoping to turn around the launch stumbles.

Civilization 7 split the fanbase. Steam showed only 48% positive reviews, with some praising its faster pace and others calling it stripped-down and shallow. Firaxis says it’s just the beginning, promising more updates and deeper changes, while Take-Two remains confident sales will hold over the long term.

In an interview, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the Civilization 7 release got off to a slow start, yet he stayed confident the game would meet its long-term value projections:

“I think the key thing is that Civ has always been a slow burn,” he told IGN. “It’s always been a title that had … long tail … our projections for the lifetime value of the title are very consistent with our initial expectations.”

He added that consumer uptake is improving and that Civ 7 is now looking up, with more updates on the way. He expects the game will earn its place in the Civilization pantheon in a credible way.

The Civilization 7 recent update — version 1.2.3 — adds quality-of-life fixes, UI improvements, and the long-requested auto-explore feature. The patch also softens the rough edges of Age Transitions, making the shift between eras smoother. Firaxis is working on deeper improvements to systems like Ages, replayability, and narrative between your Civ and history, but those changes will take more time.

Auto-explore has returned, letting scouts and other units reveal terrain automatically until they stumble on discoveries or enemy zones of control, restoring a classic feature from earlier games that players sorely missed. Relationships with other leaders now change more gradually instead of an abrupt reset after each Age Transition. And there’s a new “Continuity” option to reduce abrupt shifts in unit positioning and game feel between Ages. A ten-turn countdown also gives players buffer time before an Age change.

Civ 7 Patch notes for 1.2.3 also highlight the arrival of the first part of the Right to Rule DLC. This includes a new leader, Genghis Khan, new civilizations Assyria and Dai Viet, and four new Wonders. More DLC, including Lakshmibai, Silla, and Qajar, are planned for September. Fans who own the Founder’s Edition get these extras bundled.

These changes show Firaxis is listening to feedback and building toward a stronger Civ 7 release experience. Civ 7 is now seeing steady attention from the developer and improving uptake long after launch.

A smaller update than 1.2.2, this patch still brings meaningful updates to how Ages flow, adds a commander, auto-explore, UI tweaks, and the first wave of paid DLC content.

Civ 7 Patch notes:

• First half of the Right to Rule Content Collection: introduces Genghis Khan as a leader, the civilizations Assyria and Dai Viet, and four new Wonders. The second half, including Lakshmibai, Silla, and Qajar, is expected in September 2025.
• Auto-Explore returns: scouts and eligible units now automate tile reveals, stopping for discoveries or enemy zones of control.

Age Transition Improvements:

• New “Continuity” setting to smooth transition effects; default option.
• Improved relationship decay between leaders—changes now gradual, not sudden.
• Ten-turn End-of-Age countdown warning added, giving players time to finish key actions.

Others:

• Various UI and quality-of-life tweaks: improvements to advisor warnings, general UI polish.
• Unique Commander: Trung Nhi added for Trung Trac leader, with custom upgrade tree and art.

Back to the narrative: Firaxis continues working on deeper systems like Ages, replayability, and how you connect your civilization’s arc through history, but those are still in development.

Advisor warnings have been reworked so they no longer trigger in irrelevant situations, such as when only an opponent suffers War Weariness or when you already have the necessary units for nuclear strikes. Several alerts also stop appearing late in an Age to reduce clutter. Age Transitions now have an Advanced setting to choose between “Continuity” and “Regroup,” with new unit availability changes like Catapults unlocking at the start of the Exploration Age and Merchants appearing earlier in both Exploration and Modern Ages. Independent Powers now spawn immediately after an Age shift, and diplomacy sees a major rebalancing — relationships now drift gradually toward neutral every five turns, with hostile ties softening faster than friendly ones.

Buildings now keep their base yields and maintenance costs when Ages change, though adjacency and special effects still reset. New Legends challenges have been added for recent DLC leaders, and civs like the Maya and Inca get fun touches such as a “Pet the Dog” ability for unique scouts. The maximum number of players for Huge maps rises to twelve on supported platforms, and multiple fixes close exploits, remove unintended stacking bonuses, and correct interface errors. Smaller quality-of-life changes also appear, from accurate civ recommendations in the leader menu to proper display of AI counts in multiplayer lobbies.