Civilization VI

Lore & Background

Civilization VI builds upon the hex-based grid of Civilization V but introduces the concept of 'city unstacking': many city improvements must be placed in districts outside the city center, such as a campus district for science-based buildings. The technology tree is modified with Eureka Moments that boost research after completing specific tasks, and a separate Civics tree governs cultural improvements and government policies. Players can stack limited unit types, such as a warrior with a builder, and land combat units are now divided into melee, ranged, and anti-cavalry types. Each civilization has a unique ability and at least one unique unit, while each leader also has a unique ability. The Aztecs, led by Montezuma I, were a pre-order DLC until becoming free to all players on January 19, 2017.

Reader's Guide

Civilization VI received generally positive reviews upon release and was awarded Best Strategy Game at The Game Awards 2016 and Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The game received two major expansions, Rise and Fall (2018) and Gathering Storm (2019), as well as two season passes: the New Frontier Pass (2020–21) and the Leader Pass (2022–23). It was succeeded by Civilization VII, released in February 2025. The game's design focused on avoiding a pre-set path of improvements, with new AI mechanics including secret goals and randomized engagements to disrupt stable gameplay. The district system and separate Civics tree were introduced to balance cultural victory paths and reduce congestion on the map.

Did You Know?

• The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports of Civilization VI were published by Aspyr Media.
• New to Civilization VI is the use of districts outside the city center to house most buildings, such as a campus district for science.
• The game features a Civics tree separate from the technology tree, with policy cards that define boosts or limitations for the civilization.

The Birth of a Label

The phrase "4X" traces back to a 1993 preview of Master of Orion published in Computer Gaming World. Game writer Alan Emrich, reviewing the title, assigned it a "XXXX" rating as a playful nod to the adult-content classification. He explained that the four Xs stood for EXplore, EXpand, EXploit, and EXterminate, which he called the essential pillars of any good strategic conquest game. In his words, players must climb from modest origins, charting unknown maps while constructing the most efficient empire they can, all while rivals pursue the same goal and their eventual elimination becomes a top priority. Emrich even joked that additional Xs like EXcite, EXperiment, and EXcuses (to one's significant others) belonged on a gamer's personal rating list. By February 1994, a fellow columnist at the same magazine had already applied the "four Xs" shorthand to a different title, Command Adventures: Starship, and the label stuck. Emrich himself later extended the framework with a fifth X, eXperience, when designing Master of Orion 3.

The Four Pillars in Practice

At its core, the 4X genre is built on four interlocking gameplay conventions. Exploration sends scouts across a map to uncover hidden territories, giving players a growing picture of the world. Expansion follows as players claim newly revealed land by founding settlements or stretching the reach of existing ones. Exploitation then turns those claimed areas into productive engines, as players harvest resources and refine how efficiently they are used. Finally, Extermination represents the military endgame: attacking and removing rival players from the board. In many titles, once every tile has been claimed, wiping out an opponent becomes the only path to further growth. These four activities do not always unfold in neat sequence. Depending on a game's design, they may occupy distinct phases or blend together across the session. Titles like the Space Empires series and Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar, for instance, feature a prolonged expansion stage because players must pour substantial research investments into unlocking the ability to reach and settle every region of the map.

Technology as the Engine of Empire

One of the defining structural features of 4X games is the technology tree, a branching roadmap of advancements that players unlock to access new units, buildings, and capabilities. These trees are typically far larger and more choice-dense than those found in other strategy genres, and the primary gatekeeping mechanism is knowledge of prerequisite technologies rather than simply constructing the right structures. Empires must first generate research resources and then invest them strategically, making scientific progress a slow, deliberate accumulation. This design philosophy has a direct impact on how warfare plays out. Because technological leaps can dramatically shift military power, battles in 4X titles are frequently decided by superior technology or greater unit counts, with tactical maneuvering playing a comparatively smaller role. This stands in sharp contrast to non-4X real-time strategy games, where a technologically basic unit can remain relevant from the opening minutes through the final skirmish. In the 4X world, the research path is not merely a menu of upgrades; it is the central engine driving conquest.

From Board Tables to Digital Empires

The 4X genre did not emerge in a vacuum. Its earliest digital titles drew heavily on board-game mechanics and the text-based computer games of the 1970s. The first 4X computer games were turn-based, though real-time variants quickly appeared alongside them. A wave of 4X titles flooded the market in the mid-1990s, with Sid Meier's Civilization standing out as a formative example that set a new standard for the depth of detail expected in the genre. However, that mid-90s peak was followed by a period in which 4X games were outsold by other strategy subgenres. The new millennium brought a resurgence, with several 4X releases earning both critical acclaim and strong commercial performance. The board-game side of 4X faces unique constraints. Physical components and session length make it difficult to replicate the full four-X loop. The Civilization board game, which inspired Sid Meier's digital adaptation, for example, includes neither exploration nor extermination. Eliminating other players is often either nearly impossible due to balance mechanisms that discourage player removal, or simply unachievable because victory conditions trigger before total conquest can be completed.

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