The early access period for Civilization 7 started today and, to celebrate, the game received its first-ever update. As one of the most anticipated titles of 2025, the strategy-sim history game brings the iconic 4X turn-based gameplay to the newest generation of consoles. Fully releasing on February 11th, those who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition and the Founders Edition get early access to the title, starting today. With the new update, those who get to play early can be at ease that everything will run smoothly, like the AI, UI, and other audio components.
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While the reviews for Civilization 7 are a main series low, with Metacritic giving it an 81, many comments came at the expense of the UI. For some, it felt a little less intuitive, with the gameplay not being as addicting as previous titles like 6 and 5. However, those factors can change over time, which is what this new patch, Patch 1.01, plans to do.
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Starting today, Patch 1.01 will address multiple issues with the VFX and Audio, like missing sounds and effects. In terms of the UI, the minimap has been updated and region naming has been added. Furthermore, all platforms will receive better lighting for leaders and the ability to turn off Deluxe/Founders Edition extras.
The full Day One patch notes for Civilization 7’s first update are available below:
General
All Platforms
- Moving onto a Bridge no longer ends a Unit’s movement
- Removed -2 Happiness “Social Policy Lost” penalty when changing Social Policies during Celebrations
- Ports can now be built on Navigable Rivers
- Updated growth thresholds to ensure they never decrease
- Tiles impacted by nuclear fallout no longer produce Yields
- Town upgrade costs now scale with game speed for better pacing
- Relationships can no longer reach Helpful while at war with another Leader
AI
All Platforms
- AI now prioritizes pillaging any available tiles before attacking a Settlement’s center
- AI leaders now accept and reject Peace Deals more appropriately
- Commander Orders and Group attacks now behave more consistently
- Improved AI navy ability to target plots on shore
- Improved AI ability to use Migrant Units if space is available
UI
All Platforms
- Updated minimap to show tile ownership by player
- Added new information to the City Details screen that shows where a Town is sending its food and what Town a City is receiving food from
- Added Auto Unit Cycle option to toggle on/off when a Unit has remaining movement
- Added custom Religion naming
- Policy screen now shows how many free slots are available
Narrative System
All Platforms
- Reward description clarified on multiple Discovery Events
- All Legacy Paths Civilopedia pages have been added to the Ages tab
- Added Civilopedia entries for Ocean Exploration, Railroads, Specialists, Amphibious, Embark, Fortify, and Intercept
System Adjustments & Performance
Windows PC
- Improvements to leader lighting and shadows on high-end graphics settings
- Upscaling settings are now automatically configured based on PC hardware
All Platforms
- Addressed a number of crash issues reported by some users
Audio & Visual
All Platforms
- Road creation and connection logic updated to ensure consistent connections for better-looking roads and railroads
- Railroad assets now appear on Rural and Improved tiles
- Added text-to-speech narration
- Fixed missing VFX across various Units
- Updated VFX triggers on Volcanos
- Updated VFX for Rivers
- Updated color of Plague VFX from green to yellow
- Adjusted timing on some leader VO
- Fixed missing sounds across various Units
- Fixed missing sounds across the Independent Powers screen
- Fixed missing sounds across various UI
- Fixed audio timing loops for certain Wonders
- Updated audio for certain quotes to play with correct VO
Miscellaneous
All Platforms
- Premium items obtained from the Deluxe Edition and Founders Edition can be toggled on/off
