A Game of Thrones Star Narrates Civilization 7

Civilization fans have been waiting for nearly eight years to see the next game in the long-running franchise. Of course, that’s not a ridiculously long wait for the series, as developer Firaxis tends to take its time between new entries in the strategy franchise. However, Civilization 7 was finally confirmed at this year’s Summer Game Fest, and Firaxis recently revealed the first look at gameplay at Gamescom. That trailer showed fans all of the changes the team has made to the franchise with Civilization 7, but Firaxis also revealed that a notable name is taking over as the game’s narrator. It’s none other than Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie.

Over the last several years, Christie has become a household name. Her breakout role as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones put her on the map, but she’s since gone on to star in major film franchises like Star Wars and The Hunger Games, as well as hit TV shows like The Sandman and Wednesday. She also previously lent her force to a few Star Wars video games, playing her Captain Phasma character from the live-action franchise. However, her inclusion as the narrator in Civilization 7 will be her biggest foray into the digital world thus far.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first former Game of Thrones star to narrate a Civilization game. Sean Bean, who played Ned Stark in the first season of the hit HBO series, worked as the narrator in Civ 6. It’s a fun pipeline that Firaxis has been going down recently, so don’t be surprised if Civilization 8 brings in Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Maisie Williams to do voiceover work. 

Whether it changes things up or not with the next entry, it’s great to see Civ 7 continue to add star power to the long-running franchise. The team is hyping this iteration as “a revolutionary new chapter.” From the early gameplay details we’ve learned, it looks like Firaxis is delivering on that front. For the first time in franchise history, you’ll be able to separately select your Leader and civilization. That should open up the strategy in Civilization 7 in ways that were never possible in previous iterations.

Civilization 7 is set to launch on February 11th, 2025 for PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms. Unlike previous entries, it looks like Civ 7 will be released on all four systems simultaneously.