‘We got it wrong’ with Civilization VII, says boss, as major update announced
“What we tried to do was a bridge too far” with Civ 7, says Take-Two CEO
Take-Two’s CEO has said it “got it wrong” with strategy entry Civilization VII, ahead of a major update that will overhaul one of the game’s most controversial features.
Although Civilization VII appeared to chart strongly in the US following its release in February 2025, Take-Two said the game got off to a “slow start,” and engagement currently lags well behind previous entries in the series.
And despite mostly favorable reviews from critics, the game has a ‘mixed’ rating on Steam and an unfavorable user score on Metacritic, likely due to its controversial system that requires players to switch civilizations during matches.
Speaking to Game File, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said the game’s struggles were on him.
“Every time there’s a new Civ, the team at Firaxis thinks about: ‘How do we push the envelope far enough that it makes sense to buy this new game? And how do we preserve what people love enough so that they’re not disaffected?’ And we got it wrong with Civ VII, but it wasn’t for want of trying. And again, I take responsibility for it.”
He added: “So we’ve made a bunch of fixes. We’ll continue to make fixes. The game is a really good game. And it’s certainly a profitable enterprise for us. But this is one where I think what we tried to do was a bridge too far, from the consumer’s perspective.”
Notably, Firaxis announced a new update today that will remove the controversial civilization-swapping feature, allowing players to stick to just one for an entire match, as in previous games.
When it releases on May 19, the Test of Time update will also add new Triumphs and reworked Victories systems, which developer Firaxis says is based on feedback from players.
