Negative Game Reception Reveals Market for Classic 4X Strategy Experiences
Player unhappiness with core gameplay changes in Civilization 7, like "Civ switching" and the "ages system," has led to it being Firaxis' worst-rated game on Steam. This suggests a significant unmet demand within the 4X strategy genre. Players clearly prefer the classic, beloved mechanics found in earlier versions like Civilization V or IV (especially with mods).
Business/Marketing Opportunities:
-
For Competing Developers:
- Develop New Titles: Create and market new 4X strategy games that celebrate traditional, deep, single-civilization progression and established 4X mechanics, directly contrasting with Civ 7's controversial features.
- Market Existing Games: If existing titles already offer this classic experience, marketing campaigns can highlight these aspects, targeting disillusioned Civilization players.
- Highlight Moddability: For games with strong mod support, emphasize this as a way for players to tailor the experience to their classic preferences, much like the "Caveman 2 Cosmos mod" for Civ IV.
-
For Firaxis (Original Publisher):
- Player Feedback Incorporation: This is a critical signal to carefully analyze and consider player feedback for future patches, expansions, or entirely new titles to retain their loyal fanbase.
- Classic Mode/Spin-off: Consider developing a "classic mode" within Civ 7 that reverts or offers alternatives to the disliked core mechanics, or even a spin-off title that returns to the roots of the franchise.
- Targeted Communication: Acknowledge player concerns and communicate clearly about how future development will address (or not address, with justification) these points to manage expectations and potentially rebuild trust.
The key insight is that a vocal portion of the 4X community feels alienated by recent innovations and yearns for the gameplay depth and style of older, highly-regarded titles in the genre.
Origin Reddit Post
r/gamingnews
Even after several big updates, Civilization 7 is Firaxis' worst-scored game on Steam, and just hit a new low
Posted by u/alex040512•06/02/2025
Top Comments
u/bitemytail
Humankind did poorly and Civ VII copied some of its worst features.
u/cheesyvoetjes
Personally, the core gameplay does not appeal to me. I don't like the Civ switching and the ages system but these are core to the game. Then there's the whole mementos and leader challenges t
u/FourDimensionalNut
is there an option to only play as 1 civ all the way through, or is the mechanic too baked in to add? i believe certain civ abilities were designed with the ability in mind (i.e., had specifi
u/ketamarine
What were they thinking with this game?
Were they going for mobile first?
Seems like a complete disaster.
Firaxis has been consolizing and mobilifying their game for a while and it's not a
u/mismewitdatgaysht
you know the game is bad when people of r/piracy stop complaining the game has denevo and just continue with their life.
u/realydementedpicasso
So CIV V still goated. Nice
u/realydementedpicasso
So CIV V still goated. Nice
u/DaedricWorldEater
Seems like they tried to take some inspiration from CK3 with the rpg elements
u/SmartAlec13
That’s what it seems like to me, and with all the VR ads. It seems like they were trying to push for mobile/VR focus. The UI alone suggests it
u/Main115702
UI looks like they copied it from a fucking Mobile Game. They replaced Leaders with random Asshats and the whole Gameplay is just fucking dumbed down to hell and back again.
u/ThaCarter
CIV IV: BTS with Caveman 2 Cosmos mod
u/InsomniaticWanderer
All I want is Civ 5 with proper AI bots that actually have to play the game and can't just generate infinite amounts of gold/happiness/etc, bug fixes, and a graphical update.
That's it.
Tha
u/saintvicent
I have more than 3k+ hours on the civ franchise. When i saw the trailers and saw the resource icons being bland as fuck I knew something was incredibly wrong.
u/fall3nmartyr
They totally flipped the game on its head. Because of this they needed every other part of it to be fleshed out. Otherwise we notice all of this shit that we normally would be more okay with
u/Rough_Shelter4136
LoL big Civ and 4x fan and I had completely forgotten this game existed. Also, do you remember their scam of the whatever's golden collector's edition? That one strong energy of "you hit bett
u/pbaagui1
Some people actually DEFEND this rubbish
u/FourDimensionalNut
is there an option to only play as 1 civ all the way through, or is the mechanic too baked in to add? i believe certain civ abilities were designed with the ability in mind (i.e., had specifi
u/deceitfulninja
Seems we'll never get another good Civ. They're trying to go mass appeal, cutting out what made the games great.
u/GrizzlySin24
It isn’t an option and they shouldn‘t have allowed it to be one. All the mechanics are designed and balanced specifically for that age. If you removed that limit whoever plays Maya+ Charlemag
u/mismewitdatgaysht
you know the game is bad when people of r/piracy stop complaining the game has denevo and just continue with their life.
u/ketamarine
What were they thinking with this game?
Were they going for mobile first?
Seems like a complete disaster.
Firaxis has been consolizing and mobilifying their game for a while and it's not a
u/ManlyMeatMan
The peak of Civ
u/DaedricWorldEater
Seems like they tried to take some inspiration from CK3 with the rpg elements
u/Rough_Shelter4136
LoL big Civ and 4x fan and I had completely forgotten this game existed. Also, do you remember their scam of the whatever's golden collector's edition? That one strong energy of "you hit bett
u/Shimmitar
i havent played civ since like civ 5. it seems like its just the same game over and over again. Nothing really new.
u/Chalibard
I don't mind the switch, it's a great concept, I even had a lot of fun in the flawed Humankind. No my problems with the Civ franchise were illustrated with Civ VI "rise and fall" mechanics of
u/mismewitdatgaysht
you know the game is bad when people of r/piracy stop complaining the game has denevo and just continue with their life.
u/SmartAlec13
I wish I had refunded it, such a waste. Feels like they took multiple steps backward in overall quality
u/SmartAlec13
I wish I had refunded it, such a waste. Feels like they took multiple steps backward in overall quality
u/DaedricWorldEater
Seems like they tried to take some inspiration from CK3 with the rpg elements
u/TheRealTormDK
The only game in the entire series I do not own. How the mighty have fallen.
u/TheRealTormDK
The only game in the entire series I do not own. How the mighty have fallen.
u/Dawn_of_Enceladus
Nah, Humankind at least had an actual picture of what they wanted to do, and even if it never totally succeeded, at least it felt generally solid (after the updates and all) even with its irk
u/ketamarine
What were they thinking with this game?
Were they going for mobile first?
Seems like a complete disaster.
Firaxis has been consolizing and mobilifying their game for a while and it's not a
u/realydementedpicasso
So CIV V still goated. Nice
u/ABigCoffee
Time to play Civ4
u/Chalibard
I don't mind the switch, it's a great concept, I even had a lot of fun in the flawed Humankind.
No my problems with the Civ franchise were illustrated with Civ VI "rise and fall" mechanics of
u/bitemytail
Humankind did poorly and Civ VII copied some of its worst features.
u/ABigCoffee
Time to play Civ4
u/saintvicent
I have more than 3k+ hours on the civ franchise. When i saw the trailers and saw the resource icons being bland as fuck I knew something was incredibly wrong.
u/ManlyMeatMan
The peak of Civ
u/FruitbatEnjoyer
Civ V is the only one I played and I love it
u/Main115702
UI looks like they copied it from a fucking Mobile Game. They replaced Leaders with random Asshats and the whole Gameplay is just fucking dumbed down to hell and back again.
u/cheesyvoetjes
Personally, the core gameplay does not appeal to me. I don't like the Civ switching and the ages system but these are core to the game. Then there's the whole mementos and leader challenges t
u/bitemytail
Humankind did poorly and Civ VII copied some of its worst features.
u/Main115702
UI looks like they copied it from a fucking Mobile Game. They replaced Leaders with random Asshats and the whole Gameplay is just fucking dumbed down to hell and back again.
u/Rough_Shelter4136
LoL big Civ and 4x fan and I had completely forgotten this game existed. Also, do you remember their scam of the whatever's golden collector's edition? That one strong energy of "you hit bett
u/Dawn_of_Enceladus
Nah, Humankind at least had an actual picture of what they wanted to do, and even if it never totally succeeded, at least it felt generally solid (after the updates and all) even with its irk
u/ABigCoffee
Time to play Civ4
u/ProtexisPiClassic
I didn't get to even experience most of this because as soon as I bought it and found out they didn't include hotseat for my spouse and I, I refunded immediately and am glad I did. Maybe I'll
u/SmartAlec13
That’s what it seems like to me, and with all the VR ads. It seems like they were trying to push for mobile/VR focus. The UI alone suggests it
u/cheesyvoetjes
Personally, the core gameplay does not appeal to me. I don't like the Civ switching and the ages system but these are core to the game. Then there's the whole mementos and leader challenges t
u/fall3nmartyr
They totally flipped the game on its head. Because of this they needed every other part of it to be fleshed out. Otherwise we notice all of this shit that we normally would be more okay with
u/saintvicent
I have more than 3k+ hours on the civ franchise. When i saw the trailers and saw the resource icons being bland as fuck I knew something was incredibly wrong.
u/PM_YOUR_ISSUES
I don't entirely agree that Civ 7 is that bad, but at least I don't get to say I worked on the worst Civ any more!
Oh Beyond Earth, what it took for them to, almost, miss you.
Edit - Awwww,
u/deceitfulninja
Seems we'll never get another good Civ. They're trying to go mass appeal, cutting out what made the games great.
u/ThaCarter
CIV IV: BTS with Caveman 2 Cosmos mod
u/cheesyvoetjes
Personally, the core gameplay does not appeal to me. I don't like the Civ switching and the ages system but these are core to the game. Then there's the whole mementos and leader challenges t
u/SmartAlec13
I wish I had refunded it, such a waste. Feels like they took multiple steps backward in overall quality
u/ProtexisPiClassic
I didn't get to even experience most of this because as soon as I bought it and found out they didn't include hotseat for my spouse and I, I refunded immediately and am glad I did. Maybe I'll
u/ThaCarter
CIV IV: BTS with Caveman 2 Cosmos mod
u/InsomniaticWanderer
All I want is Civ 5 with proper AI bots that actually have to play the game and can't just generate infinite amounts of gold/happiness/etc, bug fixes, and a graphical update.
That's it.
Tha
u/ThaCarter
CIV IV: BTS with Caveman 2 Cosmos mod
u/realydementedpicasso
So CIV V still goated. Nice
u/Chalibard
I don't mind the switch, it's a great concept, I even had a lot of fun in the flawed Humankind. No my problems with the Civ franchise were illustrated with Civ VI "rise and fall" mechanics of
u/deceitfulninja
Seems we'll never get another good Civ. They're trying to go mass appeal, cutting out what made the games great.
u/fall3nmartyr
They totally flipped the game on its head. Because of this they needed every other part of it to be fleshed out. Otherwise we notice all of this shit that we normally would be more okay with
u/TheRealTormDK
The only game in the entire series I do not own. How the mighty have fallen.
u/Dawn_of_Enceladus
This game felt like wanting to make a new star pizza for your restaurant without knowing which ingredients to put on it, so you put a bit of random this and random that based on what you saw
u/ProtexisPiClassic
I didn't get to even experience most of this because as soon as I bought it and found out they didn't include hotseat for my spouse and I, I refunded immediately and am glad I did. Maybe I'll
u/Dawn_of_Enceladus
Nah, Humankind at least had an actual picture of what they wanted to do, and even if it never totally succeeded, at least it felt generally solid (after the updates and all) even with its irk
u/ManlyMeatMan
The peak of Civ
u/Chalibard
I don't mind the switch, it's a great concept, I even had a lot of fun in the flawed Humankind. No my problems with the Civ franchise were illustrated with Civ VI "rise and fall" mechanics of
u/pbaagui1
Some people actually DEFEND this rubbish
u/FourDimensionalNut
is there an option to only play as 1 civ all the way through, or is the mechanic too baked in to add? i believe certain civ abilities were designed with the ability in mind (i.e., had specifi
u/SmartAlec13
That’s what it seems like to me, and with all the VR ads. It seems like they were trying to push for mobile/VR focus. The UI alone suggests it