Firaxis and Take-Two Interactive (2K Games) have made several announcements. There will be a major update, followed by a free update and a paid expansion.

The major free update, Arc of Tomorrow, launching in 2027, introduces the Atomic Age. Players can sign up for a chance to playtest Arc of Tomorrow content through the Firaxis Feature Workshop during the first round of playtesting later this year. The Atomic Age is a new fourth age that extends the playable timeline from the 1950s to the near future. It features sweeping urban architecture, updated technology and civic systems, new triumphs, social policies, narrative events, and more. The update brings a new roster of period-specific civilizations and the return of leader Gandhi.

The expanded nuclear gameplay offers new offensive and defensive options and units with a new twist on mutually assured destruction. Players can declare their Settlements independent and release them as City-States, which gives them new tools to manage empire size and loyalty. Film crews will hunt for the perfect filming location, which differs depending on the desired genre and gives variable benefits depending on the quality of film produced. Follow recipes that combine specific commodities to produce powerful new resources, such as enriched uranium.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII: Earthrise is the first paid expansion for the game and is themed around the historic space race, deploying missions across the solar system. Earthrise isn’t just about looking up; it’s also about protecting the Earth itself. Players can chart the night sky and name celestial bodies before expanding their knowledge of the solar system and their own planet’s place within it. Launch early orbital missions around Earth and the Moon to set the stage for additional space operations later on.

With your own established space agency, launch missions across the solar system to discover planetary features and untapped resources that will strengthen your civilization’s power on Earth. New unit abilities and technologies allow you to alter your empire’s terrain and tile bonuses. New civil engineering structures help you combat increasing natural disasters as global temperatures rise, and you can even reverse global warming. As your empire becomes more proficient at working specific biomes, your civilization will earn new gameplay advantages in those biomes.

Later this month, players will experience Update 1.5.0, which adds quality-of-life updates to the game, including the long-awaited True Start Location: Earth map. This new map features the land, resources, and geographical features of the real world, enabling a stronger role-playing fantasy experience throughout history. Players start their campaign in a location on the map representative of where their civilization began in the real world. Each game spawns a different set of natural wonders in their natural locations, so even on a familiar map, things stay fresh.

The updated Terra Incognita and Shuffle map types use the Voronoi map generation algorithm. This will make these map types more varied and natural-looking. Map loading and generation are faster, and resource placement feels more varied. Players can use Influence to remain in an alliance without participating in their allies’ misguided wars. There are additional updates to plot tooltips, settlement banners, and the game setup. There is also a new tile ruler to help with city planning.

The 1.5.0 update is coming later this month, followed by Arc of Tomorrow and the paid expansion Earthrise next year.

Source: Gematsu