Brace yourselves, Civ-heads: Civilization VII is about to drop a major update on June 17 that might just be the shot in the arm this strategy titan needs. We’re talking massive maps, deeper game customization, official Steam Workshop support, and yes, pettable Scout Dogs. It’s the Civ equivalent of a tech boost, and Firaxis is finally tapping into some long-requested community features.
What’s New in Civilization VII Update 1.2.2
Map Size Madness
The long-requested Large and Huge map sizes are finally coming to Civ VII, letting players sprawl across sprawling continents with up to 12 civilizations in single-player. Multiplayer still caps out at 8 civs on huge maps to avoid spaghetti-code server meltdowns.
Heads up: Firaxis warns that larger maps come with hardware hunger pangs. So if your PC wheezes when you scroll through Reddit, brace for turn times that might age you into the next Era.
Advanced Game Options = God Mode (Almost)
The update rolls out a buffet of new Advanced Game Settings, and they’re straight fire:
- Turn off or toggle Legacy Paths between Ages
- Select which crises show up, from rebellions to climate catastrophes
- Tweak AI behavior down to specific fields: economy, combat, expansion
- Bypass civ unlocks, letting you pick ANY civ in a new Age (finally!)
- Control Independent Powers’ hostility, because sometimes you just want to chill
Translation? You can now make Civ VII as sweaty or as sandboxy as you want.
Steam Workshop: Modders, Assemble
Civilization VII is finally joining the 21st century with full Steam Workshop support. Firaxis is rolling out an SDK, documentation, and example mods made by their dev team. That means easier uploads, cleaner installs, and no more dragging files into obscure directories like it’s 2005.
Modding community? Time to go nuts.
Town Specializations: Now With More Flavor
We’re getting new town types and tweaks:
- Resort Town: Gold and happiness boost on scenic tiles and natural wonders
- Urban Center: Reworked to unlock buildings earlier and cut maintenance costs
- Factory Town: Gets a +5 trade range (long-range capitalism!)
- Fort Town: Buffed wall levels
- Religious Sites: Now scale happiness with building count
- Hub Town: Nerfed slightly (boo!) with -1 Influence
It’s the kind of city-building flavor Civ needed to keep every town from feeling like a copy-paste job.
Faith and Diplomacy Glow-Ups
Religion and diplomacy are getting some love too:
- 24 new City-State bonuses to spice up your suzerainty strats
- 2 new Pantheons for early-game flexes
- 14 new Religious Beliefs, including buffs to Founder, Reliquary, and Enhancer branches
Whether you’re going full Gandhi or warmongering with holy fire, there’s new doctrine to test out.
Quality of Life, Bug Fixes, and… Dogs?
Beyond the big bullet points, there’s a treasure trove of smaller tweaks:
- Specialist balancing to avoid broken econ strats
- Treasure fleets renamed to Treasure Convoys (now usable on land!)
- Scout Dogs are pettable. Yes. You read that right. PETTABLE. SCOUT. DOGS.
The Internet’s already declared this the single most important patch note ever.
Why It Actually Matters
Civ VII launched with ambitious Age-based systems, but a lot of players felt the transitions were jarring and the legacy path system was rigid. This update doesn’t just add content—it addresses core mechanical pain points:
- Gives you control over the randomness and flow of each campaign
- Makes modding easier and more visible
- Adds strategic variety with new town builds and belief systems
- Lays the groundwork for smoother future patches (and hopefully DLC?)
Firaxis even teased more core gameplay reworks coming later in the summer, especially to refine Age transitions and tie the eras together more naturally. So this update is just the start.
Community Reactions: Reddit Hype and Hope
Reddit’s r/civ is cautiously optimistic, with top-voted comments praising the freedom to turn off legacy paths or pick civs freely. The Workshop support got a collective hallelujah. And then there’s the Scout Dog:
“I don’t care if the game crashes on turn 300. If I can pet my dog, I’m all in.”
Mood.
TL;DR
- Civ VII Update 1.2.2 drops June 17 (unless it’s fashionably late)
- Massive maps, custom setup galore, Steam Workshop, new town types, and religious/diplomatic additions
- Lots of QoL tweaks, balance changes, and yes, you can pet the dog
- Firaxis is listening—and this is just Phase 1
What are you most hyped for? A 12-civ throwdown on a huge map? Turning off legacy paths for a wild sandbox run? Or just vibing with your Scout Dog? Sound off below!
