‘Civilization VII’ Finally Passes Test Of Time As Review Scores Rise

InnovationConsumer Tech‘Civilization VII’ Finally Passes Test Of Time As Review Scores RiseByBarry Collins,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Barry Collins is a tech journalist writing about PCs, Macs and games.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 05:07am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Civilization VII is starting to find its feetBarry Collins/FiraxisThe recently released Civilization VII: Test of Time update has boosted the troubled game’s fortunes, with players reacting positively to the new update. Civilization VII has struggled to match the huge popularity of its predecessor (and other titles in the long-running series) since its release in February 2025. A flat 50% of the reviews on Steam were positive before the free update was released on May 19, compared to 84% positive reviews for its predecessor Civilization VI, which was released way back in October 2016. Negative sentiment is a big problem for a franchise such as Sid Meier’s Civilization because of the long gap between major new versions of the game. The bulk of the game’s income comes from the ongoing sales of DLC, but if there’s little enthusiasm for the game, DLC sales suffer. ‘Civilization VII’: What’s in Test of Time?Victory conditions have been made clearer in the new update Barry Collins/FiraxisThe Test of Time updates fixes one of the biggest complaints about Civilization VII: the way players were forced to change civilization at the start of each new age. As the game’s developers Firaxis acknowledged in a recent dev diary, “the core tradition of Civ, for the entirety of its 30+ years of existence, has centered exclusively on playing as a single civilization from beginning to end. To upend that essential piece so suddenly, without even the option to continue telling that same meta-historical tale, felt like too far a break.”Now players can continue with the same c...