"Civ 7 Tops 2025's Most Wanted PC Games List"

Sid Meier's Civilization VII has surged to the forefront as the most anticipated game of 2025, captivating fans and industry insiders alike. At the heart of this excitement is the game's innovative approach to campaign engagement, as detailed by the Creative Director, Ed Beach. Let's dive into the buzz surrounding Civ 7 and explore the fresh mechanics that promise to make every campaign more compelling.

Civ 7 Gaining Momentum Ahead of Its 2025 Release

Bagged the Most Wanted Game for 2025

The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted event, held by PC Gamer on December 6, spotlighted Civilization VII as the top game to watch in 2025. This prestigious event showcased the top 25 most anticipated projects through an engaging three-hour livestream. The rankings were determined by votes from The Council, comprising over 70 influential developers, content creators, and PC Gamer's own editors. Alongside the rankings, the event unveiled new trailers and content for titles like Let’s Build a Dungeon and Drivers of the Apocalypse.

Following closely behind Civ 7, Doom: The Dark Ages secured the second spot, with Monster Hunter Wilds taking third. The indie sensation Slay the Spire 2 claimed the fourth position. Other notable entries included Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, The Thing: Remastered, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Notably absent from the list was Hollow Knight: Silksong, which also did not feature a trailer at the event.

Civilization VII is set to launch simultaneously on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch on February 11, 2025.

Civ 7 Game Mechanic Helps Players Finish Campaign

In an insightful interview with PC Gamer on December 6, Civ 7’s Creative Director, Ed Beach, unveiled a groundbreaking campaign mechanic called Ages. This feature was developed in response to data from Civilization VI, which showed that many players did not complete their campaigns. Beach emphasized the team's commitment to addressing this issue by streamlining gameplay and reducing micromanagement.

"We had a lot of data that people would play Civilization games and they would never get all the way to the end. They just wouldn’t finish them. And so we wanted to do whatever we could—whether it was reducing micromanagement, restructuring the game—to really address that problem directly," Beach stated.

The Ages mechanic divides a single playthrough into three distinct chapters: the Antiquity Age, the Exploration Age, and the Modern Age. Players can transition to a new civilization at the end of each Age, mirroring the rise and fall of empires throughout history. However, the choice of the next civilization is not arbitrary; it must be historically or geographically linked to the previous one. For instance, transitioning from the Roman Empire to the French Empire might involve the Norman Empire as an intermediary.

A unique aspect of this system is that your leader remains constant across all Ages, fostering a continuous narrative thread. According to the game's official website, "Leaders persist across all Ages, ensuring you always have a sense of who is part of your empire, and who are your rivals."

Additionally, the "overbuild" feature allows players to construct new buildings on top of existing ones after transitioning to a new Age, although Wonders and certain structures remain unchanged throughout the campaign.

With these innovative features, Civilization VII promises players a dynamic experience, allowing them to explore different civilizations within a single playthrough while maintaining a connection to their chosen leader. This approach not only enhances the narrative depth but also offers new strategies for managing cultural, military, diplomatic, and economic challenges.