Civilization 7’s Free Arc of Tomorrow Update Will Extend Its Timeline to 2050 in 2027
Firaxis also plans to launch the Earthrise expansion alongside the free update, with both projects still in development.
Firaxis plans to push Civilization 7 beyond its 1950 endpoint in 2027 with Arc of Tomorrow, a free update that will add a fourth Act, the Atomic Age, and extend the playable timeline to 2050. The update will likely launch alongside Earthrise, the game’s first paid expansion, although both projects remain in development and their features can still change.
Civilization 7 currently lets players use World War II bombers to drop atomic bombs, but its final age ends before several defining technologies of the nuclear era appear. Nuclear submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles are not part of the game yet, leaving the series’ modern conflict systems notably limited.
May’s Test of Time update brought major mechanical reworks and a fresh influx of players. Among its changes, players can now keep the same civilization for an entire campaign, addressing one of the complaints aimed at Civilization 7’s age structure. Steam’s user rating remains Mixed at 51% positive, however, and the game’s divided player base has continued to question whether Firaxis is expanding the game before resolving every base-game problem.
Players have criticized the requirement to change civilizations between ages, which can make it difficult to guide one society through an entire history. Separating leaders from their historical civilizations has also produced combinations such as Benjamin Franklin leading Egypt or Cleopatra leading England, while the stripped-back interface has made important statistics harder to find. Arc of Tomorrow and Earthrise will now have to make their case against that lingering criticism by giving Civilization 7’s later stages more room to develop.
Update 1.5.0 adds a True Start Earth map
Before either 2027 project arrives, Update 1.5.0 is planned for September 2026. It will add an official True Start Earth map, placing each civilization as close as possible to its real-world starting location. Natural Wonders will also appear in appropriate locations, although the selection will change between games so the map does not play exactly the same way every time.
Terra Incognita and Shuffle will receive layouts generated with Firaxis’ Voronoi map algorithm, which should produce more varied terrain. Map loading and generation will be faster as well, with changes to resource generation and placement, plot tooltips, settlement banners, and game setup. A tile ruler will also help players plan cities.
Diplomacy is getting a practical adjustment too. Influence can keep a civilization in an alliance without forcing it to join an ally’s war, giving players more room to support a partner without turning every dispute into an empire-wide conflict.
In the same Steam announcement outlining Firaxis’ plans, the studio described Arc of Tomorrow as “even bigger in scope” than Test of Time.
Arc of Tomorrow takes Civilization 7 into the Atomic Age
Arc of Tomorrow will add new civilizations, leaders, buildings, units, and gameplay systems alongside the Atomic Age, pushing the campaign roughly 100 years beyond its current ending in the 1950s. Mahatma Gandhi will also return as a leader. Nuclear weapons will gain a larger offensive and defensive role, including what Firaxis calls a “fun twist” on mutually assured destruction.
Diplomacy will give players more control over the nuclear crisis. Multilateral agreements will let several leaders respond together to threats such as growing nuclear stockpiles, with possible calls for disarmament or escalation. Players can also increase warhead production and push the doomsday clock closer to midnight.
Settlements can be transformed into City States and used in proxy wars, giving players a way to fight through indirect Cold War-style conflicts instead of attacking rival empires head-on. The Manufactured Goods system will combine commodities into advanced resources such as Enriched Uranium, while the Great Works of Film system will send crews across the globe to find filming locations that can support cultural gains.
Firaxis frames the new era around nuclear anxiety, spaceflight, and the fight for justice and equality in its 35th-anniversary announcement. The added age therefore has more to work with than a simple extension of the existing endgame, although Firaxis has not yet named the new civilizations and historical leaders tied to this later period.
Earthrise brings the space race into the campaign
Earthrise will take Civilization 7 into space, with its systems beginning much earlier than a traditional end-game Space Age. Players will be able to chart the night sky during Antiquity, name celestial bodies, and eventually establish a space agency capable of reaching farther into the solar system.
Modern Age civilizations will be able to launch early orbital missions around Earth and the Moon. Once the Atomic Age begins, players can establish a national space agency and send discovery missions toward nearby moons and planets. Planetary features and resources found beyond Earth can strengthen the civilization back home, giving rival empires another way to compete without limiting the expansion’s space systems to a final victory sequence.
Terraforming will give those off-world systems a direct effect on the map. Players will be able to change the yields of specific tiles and make harsh environments such as tundra and desert suitable for settlers. Climate systems will also remain an escalating threat on Earth, with rising global temperatures intensifying natural disasters over time. New tools will help civilizations survive severe weather and potentially work toward reversing the climate crisis.
Firaxis says Arc of Tomorrow and Earthrise will both arrive sometime in 2027. Neither project has a more precise release date, and the announced systems are still subject to change before launch.
Players can try Civilization 7 for free through September 10. Anyone who decides to keep it can buy the full game for $35, down from $70, through September 17, with the UK price reduced from £60 to £30 through the Steam listing.
Will Arc of Tomorrow give Civilization 7’s later eras the depth they need? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
