Sid Meier's Civilization VII

The Civilization of Sid Meier's Civilization: Player Reception of Change in A Long-Running Game Series

A study of player reception to Sid Meier's Civilization VII examines why the latest entry in a 35-year-old franchise received mixed reviews, a rare departure for the series.

• The study analyzes roughly 26,000 English-language Steam reviews of Sid Meier's Civilization VII, collected in December 2025 from more than 50,000 total ratings, which place the game near an even split between recommended and not recommended.
• Comparison with earlier Civilization titles dominates player discourse, appearing in about 59 percent of reviews, making it the most common frame for reactions to the game.
• Unfinished or polish issues appear in roughly 11 percent of reviews, while resistance to change accounts for about 7.5 percent, indicating that outright opposition to innovation is a smaller driver of criticism than technical or polish concerns.