Civilization VII Is Coming to Apple Arcade
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While we’ll be the first to admit that Apple Arcade isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s a great service for casual gamers, with over 250 titles. However, Apple also drops a pretty big hit every so often.
You still won’t find any hardcore AAA console titles on Apple Arcade, but Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Fantasian came pretty close. The exclusive JRPG from the legendary Final Fantasy creator was one of the service’s debut titles, and it undoubtedly drew many folks into the Apple fold in the years before it finally made its way onto traditional consoles.
Big, exclusive hits have been few and far between since then, but that hasn’t stopped Apple from welcoming popular titles from other platforms and making them available as part of the same subscription package. For example, we’ve seen annual NBA 2K releases since 2021, and now Apple is bringing an even more classic franchise onto the platform: Sid Meier’s Civilization.
Apple announced its February Arcade lineup today, and it’s headlined by the addition of Civilization VII Arcade Edition:
Build the greatest empire the world has ever known. On February 5, the award-winning strategy franchise by legendary game designer Sid Meier comes to Apple Arcade with the launch of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition. Players can now take this AAA PC gaming experience on the go, as it’s playable across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Civilization VII has been available for the Mac for some time now via Steam, but unlike its predecessor, it’s been conspicuously absent from the Mac App Store, and we haven’t seen an iPhone or iPad version. We’re not sure if it was held back because Apple already had an “Arcade Edition” deal in the works, but either way, it appears Arcade will be the only way to get the latest instalment on your Apple mobile devices.
2K Games also shared its own announcement on the impending release, adding that the Arcade Edition is being developed by Behaviour Interactive in partnership with Firaxis Games. Behaviour has a strong track record with mobile ports, having worked on titles like Fallout Shelter and Dead by Daylight Mobile, so the controls should be well-optimized for a touchscreen experience on the iPhone and iPad.
The arrival of Civilization VII on Arcade comes with an interesting and important set of limitations. First off is that the game will require a AAA-capable platform: the minimum requirements are an A17 Pro or later or an M-series chip. The description also says that Large and Huge map sizes require devices with 8 GB or more RAM, although that seems redundant as that’s the base RAM on all of the compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs anyway.
Apple Arcade doesn’t allow for post-release downloadable content (DLC), which means it either has to be built into the main game, or left out entirely.
The upside is that this leaves room for Civilization VII updates that add some of the new leaders and other content like the Crossroads of the World Collection and Tides of War at no extra charge. However, it doesn’t look like we’ll see any of those at launch, and we can probably expect them to lag behind the Steam version.
The same goes for multiplayer support. As per the Civilization VII Arcade Edition app description, the game “will not support multiplayer at launch, and will not receive any DLC seen in Civilization VII on other platforms. Post-launch updates that apply to other platforms may be excluded or delayed for Civilization VII on Apple Arcade.”
Civilization VII has met with mixed reviews from long-term fans of the franchise, many of whom aren’t thrilled with the design that segregates gameplay into separate “ages,” each with unique tech and civic tress, which makes it feel more like a set of three separate games than a single campaign to build a single empire that will stand the test of time. That design was particularly harsh in the original release, which left players with an almost complete reset as you evolved their civilizations into the next age, but was later refined through game updates and DLC expansion packs. It remains to be seen if the Arcade Edition will feature these refinements, but the basic balancing came through patches rather than DLC, so we’re optimistic it will at least be up to date in that area.
If not, this could result in an unfortunate compromise for those who want to enjoy the game on their iPhone and iPad. Serious Civilization fans (like me) will undoubtedly want to opt for the Steam version with all of its up-to-date enhancements that have fixed a lot of the initial concerns and balanced the gameplay from the original. However, the Apple Arcade version almost certainly won’t be compatible for cross-play with the Steam version, leaving folks to settle for creating a separate empire in a more basic version of the game when playing on mobile.
Of course, chances are those folks have already bought Civilization VII, and the Apple Arcade Edition will still help to attract a new audience who can now enjoy it as part of their existing subscription without shelling out any extra money. Still, be forewarned that Civilization VII can be pretty addictive; if you find yourself enjoying the Arcade Edition, you’ll be hungry for what the full version on Steam has to offer.
