Civilization 7 live launch coverage: reviews, tips, and the latest news

After nearly nine years of Civilization 6 expansions and updates, it's finally Civilization 7's turn. The new game in Sid Meier's distinguished grand strategy series is a major departure from Civ 6, restructuring our progression through history and tweaking many of the systems we've grown used to, including city planning, warfare, and diplomacy.

I love Civ 7's new environment art, and the three-age structure strikes me as a smart experiment, introducing soft resets on the way from antiquity to modernity that inject some of the early game fun into the midgame. But there's a lot for Civ 5 and 6 fans to pine for, too—I expect this to be a controversial game among Civ lifers.

We'll be covering the response to Civilization 7 and all the other launch news here with regular updates. Scroll down for info on our review, launch times, and more.

Our Civilization 7 review: 76%

Reviewer Robert Zak had plenty of criticism in our Civilization 7 review, but ultimately enjoyed Firaxis' latest 4X game, noting that its flaws exist in comparison to Civ 5 and Civ 6—two exceptionally good strategy games that have both had years of post-launch updates. In his conclusion, he wrote:

Civilization 7 feels like a reaction to the maximalism of its predecessor: sleeker and speedier, colder and less complex. Being the first game in the series to come out on consoles at the same time as PC, I can't help but feel that some of the complexity cutbacks are made with gamepad players in mind. Some of these cuts are positive, and they help the game flow better (especially, I imagine, in multiplayer), but the simplification of systems like religion, diplomacy, city-states, and espionage means that the journey through history doesn't feel quite as rich or rewarding.

It's as if Civ's gone through its own age transition—a few steps forward, a few steps back. While it's addressed some longstanding issues, there's a little too much that's been stripped away for veterans like myself to call this meaningful progress on the legendary series' Legacy Path.

Civilization 7 review round-up

Civ 7 reviews dropped on Monday, and so far there's a mix of high praise and cooler-but-still-optimistic takes (like you'll find in our review), as well as a handful of mostly negative assessments.

I think the conversation's going to get more heated once Civ 7 is available to the public and new and old fans start playing, but for now, here's a sampling of what critics are saying:

• The Guardian — 100
• Windows Central — 4.5/5
• Destructoid — 9/10
• GamesRadar — 4/5
• TechRadar — 4/5
• GameSpot — 8
• PC Gamer — 76%
• IGN — 7
• Eurogamer — 2/5

Civilization 7 launch times

Civilization 7 is launching in two phases:

• Advanced Access: February 5 at 9 pm Pacific (must pre-purchase Deluxe or Founder's Edition)
• Full release: February 10 at 9 pm Pacific

The launches will happen simultaneously worldwide, so you just have to find out when 9 pm Pacific is in your time zone to determine when you can start playing. Firaxis put together the graphic below with launch times across the globe:

Learn the Civ 7 basics while you wait for it to unlock

Civilization 7 simplifies things in some ways, but I definitely wouldn't say it's simple, and if you've been playing Civ 5 and 6 for a long time, some of the changes might throw you at first. We've got more guides coming, but for starters, here are some introductions to Civ 7's systems:

• Civilization 7 victory guide: Civ 7's win conditions are similar to those of previous games, but the new Ages and Legacy Paths add some wrinkles.
• Civilization 7 age transition guide: Not everything that happens in one of the new age transitions is explained in the game. This guide will help prepare you for your first historical long jump.
• Civilization 7 settlements guide: Along with cities, you can now control towns. The way you grow and build up these settlements has also changed (RIP Workers).