One of the first major game releases of 2025 is one that players have been waiting years and years for. Sid Meier's Civilization VII is finally arriving after a long, eight-year hiatus following the release of the sixth entry in the historic franchise. Recognized as one of the ultimate turn-based strategy games, the Civilization series promises to improve upon its well-established formula with the seventh entry.It's difficult to describe what Civilization is as a game. It's a historical, strategy city-builder at heart, but how the game's systems interact with each other makes each entry in the series different from anything else you've played. Civilization VII, in particular, has supposedly made its systems easier to learn so players can jump in without being too overwhelmed. However, if you're a hardcore Civ player, you can still have the unforgiving experience you've come to know from the series.The release date of Sid Meier's Civilization VII isn't too far away now and there's plenty to go over to get you ready for launch. Below, we'll showcase everything you need to know about Civilization VII. Civilization VII Release Date and Early AccessFirst and foremost, the worldwide release date for Civilization VII is slated for February 11, 2025. However, the early access release date for Civilization VII is set for February 6, a full five days earlier.You can play the strategy game early if you purchase the Deluxe or Founder's Edition. Of course, to play early, you'll want to ensure you preorder Civilization VII so you have enough time to download it before the early access release goes live. Preordering is not a requirement to play in early access, though.Players who just buy the standard edition of Civilization VII will have to wait until the official launch date. Exact times for when the game will go live on either date have yet to be announced. Civilization VII Preorder and EditionsThere are several separate editions of Civilization VII as well as one primary preorder bonus. The reward for preordering is a Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack. You can earn the preorder bonus for buying the game prior to February 11. After the game is live, the preorder bonus is no longer available. See standard edition at Amazon However, the preorder bonus is available in two of the three editions for Civilization VII, only making a preorder necessary if you're purchasing the standard edition. That version of Civilization VII costs $70 across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. The standard edition on the Nintendo Switch costs $60.Moving on, the Deluxe and Founder's Editions come with the Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack as well as a plethora of other bonuses. The Deluxe Edition goes for $100 on PC and consoles ($90 on Switch) and the Collector's Edition costs $130 on PC and consoles ($120 on Switch). Here's a breakdown of what your money buys when you purchase the Deluxe or Founder's Edition:Deluxe Edition Early AccessTecumseh and Shawnee PackCrossroads of the World CollectionDeluxe Content Pack See Deluxe Edition at Amazon Founder's EditionDeluxe Edition of the gameEarly AccessTecumseh and Shawnee PackCrossroads of the World CollectionRight to Rule CollectionDeluxe Content PackFounders Content PackAll future DLCs for Civilization VII (six DLCs are currently planned for release by September 2025) See Founder's Edition at Amazon There's also a Collector's Edition available for Civilization VII, which can come with or without the game (although the latter option is currently sold out). If you're interested in buying the edition, you have to preorder it via Final Boss Bundle. Here's a look at the physical items the edition comes with:"Passage of Time" Decorative ClockScout FigureLogo PinChallenge CoinCivilization PostcardsHigh-Quality Art PrintYield Icon Patch Set See at Final Boss Bundle Civilization VII Platforms and Cross-PlayFor the first time ever with a Civilization game, the initial launch of Civilization VII will occur on multiple platforms. In the past, the worldwide release of games in the series would just be for PC. Civilization VI, for example, initially launched in 2016 and received PlayStation and Xbox ports three years later.Civilization VII is spinning a different web, though. Now, the developers at Firaxis Games are bringing Civilization to all players at the same time. The available platforms at launch are PC via Steam and Epic Games, Nintendo Switch (and presumably Switch 2 via backwards compatibility), PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.Fortunately for players on any platform, Civilization VII is fully cross-play. All you have to do is link your 2K and Civilization VII accounts together and you'll be able to link up with any person, regardless of their platform. However, there are some limitations to how cross-play functions.Specifically, Nintendo Switch players are limited in how they play the game. The Switch won't be able to support full Standard or above map sizes or full multiplayer parties. In the Antiquity & Exploration Ages, Switch players can only play with a four-person party while a six-person party is the max for the Modern Age. Parties not featuring any Switch players will support five players in the Antiquity & Exploration Ages and eight players in the Modern Age.Finally, cross-progression is available in Civilization VII. This means if you buy two copies of the game for different platforms, you can still access the saved progress on your account if you switch back and forth between the platforms. Watch the Civilization VII Trailer Here There are plenty of trailers for Civilization VII, including ones dedicated to specific characters, but the official gameplay trailer showcases everything you'll need to know before the game releases. Civilization VII GameplayTrying to explain the overarching gameplay in a Civilization game can be extremely difficult, as there are so many systems and mechanics at play. Civilization VII is a city builder where you try and build the best empire the world has ever known. You'll expand your empire across three distinct ages in world history: the Antiquity Age, the Exploration Age, and the Modern Age.In a big change for the series, every time a new Age begins, you'll choose a new civilization to use. For example, in the Modern Age, you can choose to settle America and expand the civilization from scratch. From there, you're able to discover new locations and technology, meet world leaders from distinct regions, and unlock tools that aid your empire's growth. Every civilization available across the three Ages features unique abilities, attributes, military units, and other aspects that distinguish it from other civilizations.As you start your civilization, you'll appoint a world leader to run it. This is a huge choice, as each leader has different strengths and weaknesses that will determine how your empire is run. Each leader has a unique ability that empowers what they are best known for throughout history, which entangles with your chosen civilization's unique ability and other qualities.Over the course of a match, which can last dozens of hours, you'll ally with or face off against other rival civilizations. There are numerous ways to ultimately win, with Civ VII settling on four different victory conditions: Science, Culture, Military, and Economic. These each offer distinct ways to approach your expanding civilization; will you lean into dominating opponents, or fend them off while you make scientific advancements over the ages? Combat in Civilization VIIOf course, combat is a key part of the turn-based strategy in Civ. If you're a veteran of the Civilization series, you know fairly well how combat works and the best times to utilize it.Civilization VII implements a hexagonal tile system across the map. Tiles are what separate combat encounters and how you determine how military forces are set up. You can deploy specific military units to specific tiles where they fight enemies unit vs. unit. Terrain, type of unit, and strategy all come into play when determining what tiles to send your various military units. It might sound simple in practice, but when you're waging war across a continent against a slew of enemy units, it can get overwhelming quickly.Fortunately, one major Civilization VII is introducing is the arrival of Commander Units. Commanders are military leaders who have authoritative abilities over your units. Commanders can join units together into one "stack" and the stack joins the Commander to jointly move all over the map where they're needed. Commander Units are also the only units available to earn promotions and gain XP.Regardless of what Age you're in, your Commanders will retain all their promotions and XP. When you've earned enough Commander promotions, you can further customize the Commander by putting points into a specific Discipline Tree. The various Discipline Trees transform them into a certain type of military leader who excels at different types of encounters. You can make your Commander specialized in ground, siege, naval, or aerial combat and the Discipline Trees for each type are slightly different.Commanders essentially reduce the amount of management you need to engage in during a combat encounter. Your units can be managed by the Commander, as they can bring in units as required and order units to attack if the time is right or retreat if things aren't going well.Combat in Civilization VII will certainly take some getting used to, for new and veteran players, but it sounds as though the developers have made the systems much more streamlined and efficient.