Civilization VII previews Yi Sun-sin ahead of Brush & Blade Part II

By | July 22, 2026
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Civilization VII has offered its first look at Yi Sun-sin, the Korean admiral joining the game next week as part of the second half of the paid Brush & Blade Collection.

The official First Look trailer introduces Yi Sun-sin ahead of the Brush & Blade Collection’s Part II launch alongside Update 1.4.2, planned for the week of July 27. The update will bring expanded Peace Deals, clearer leader-relationship information, optional Test of Time Victories, stability and bug fixes, and other changes detailed in the full notes at launch.

Part II shifts Brush & Blade’s focus from Japan to Korea. In addition to Yi Sun-sin, it adds the Goryeo and Joseon civilizations plus the Buseoksa and Hwaseong wonders. Firaxis describes Yi as a scientific and militaristic leader, fitting a collection that began in June with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Heian Japan, Sengoku Japan, and four Japanese- and Korean-themed wonders.

Brush & Blade is paid DLC and requires the base game; players who already own the collection will receive Part II when the update goes live. You can read Firaxis’s Update 1.4.2 preview for the full pre-release overview.

What do you think of Yi Sun-sin’s arrival and the new Korean civs? Join the conversation in the new thread about Korea in Civ7!

CivFanatics Welcomes Its First Sponsor: World History Encyclopedia

By | July 20, 2026
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World History Encyclopedia

We have some exciting news to share: CivFanatics has its very first sponsor — World History Encyclopedia.

If you’ve glanced at our sidebar lately, you may have spotted a new “Our Partners” spot. We recently opened a small number of hand-picked sponsorship slots to help keep the site running — and we couldn’t be happier that the first company to step up has deep roots in our own community.

A full-circle story. World History Encyclopedia was founded by Jan van der Crabben — known to long-time CivFanatics members as Thamis, creator of The Ancient Mediterranean, one of the most popular total-conversion mods of the Civ3/Civ4 era. In a wonderful twist, that very mod was the original inspiration for what grew into World History Encyclopedia: today one of the most-read free history resources on the web.

What it is. WHE is a non-profit publishing free, fact-checked history reviewed by historians — from ancient empires to the modern age. If Civilization ever made you curious about the real stories behind the wonders, leaders, and civilizations you build, it’s the perfect place to dig deeper. Their motto sums it up: No clickbait. No algorithms. Just history.

What this means for you: sponsorships like this let us fund the site with fewer ads, not more. A direct sponsor replaces a programmatic ad slot — one clearly-labelled partner instead of an anonymous banner.

Give them a visit — you may lose a happy afternoon to it: World History Encyclopedia →

Thank you, Jan, for your support — and for everything you’ve given this community over the past two decades.

Interested in reaching the Civ community yourself? See our Advertise page.

Play the new Civ5 “Game Of The Month” #293

By | July 20, 2026
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It’s right in the middle of summer, and what would be a better use of a sunny day than conquering the world?

Therefore, we give you the next chance for that with the Civ5 GOTM again! If you want to compete against all the civfanatics about who’s best at Civ5, then we have the right competition for you! In this game we have prepared a savegame where you play as Montezuma of the Aztecs on a standard size Highlands map on Prince level. Before you’re considering which of your enemies to exterminate first, we need to tell you though that you need to win via a diplomacy victory. You think you can achieve that? Then get your starting savegame here, and send in the winning savegame before August 17!

Pirates Mod for Sid Meier’s Colonization

By | July 19, 2026
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CivFanatics member NotJohnSmith has released a pirates mod for Sid Meier’s Colonization. He describes the mod as transforming Colonization into a fun pirate-themed experience with things like Infamy instead of Crosses, Pirate Hideouts instead of Missions, pirate-themed advisor portraits, rewritten texts and lots of smaller flavor changes. He’s also currently replacing the Founding Fathers with historical and fictional pirates too.

More info & discussion: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/i-made-a-pirates-mod-for-sid-meiers-colonization-classic.703935/

Play the new Civ7 “Game Of The Month” #26

By | July 17, 2026
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We got a new Civ7 GOTM, and in the burning sun we’re sending you on a hike up the mountains: This months we want you to play as Pachacuti of the Inca on a standard size Fractal map on Viceroy level. You get a light disaster intensity, crisis, and shorter ages, and you must win via an economics victory.
Do you think you can win this game faster than anyone else? Then get your savegame here, and send in a winning savegame at lateset on August 15!

Civilization VII Hotfix 2 targets AI war behavior, adds temporary Switch crossplay limitation

By | July 15, 2026
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Firaxis has released Civilization VII Update 1.4.1 Hotfix 2, a small patch focused on an AI behavior issue: opponents were not declaring war as often as intended.

The update is also important for Nintendo Switch players. The AI fix will arrive on Nintendo platforms with Update 1.4.2 in the coming weeks. Until then, Switch players cannot use Crossplay Multiplayer with players running the latest Hotfix 2 build on other platforms.

Firaxis says Steam players who want to keep playing cross-platform with Switch users can opt into the console-compatible-switch beta branch: right-click Sid Meier’s Civilization VII in Steam, open Properties, then Game Versions & Betas, and select that branch.

You can read the official Hotfix 2 announcement for Firaxis’ full note.

Have you noticed more active AI diplomacy after the patch? Join the discussion in the Civ VII General Discussions forum.

Imperial Ambitions – now released!

By | July 13, 2026
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For people with a longing for some retro-experience, we got a new game release for you: Imperial Ambitions. This game is a historic turn-based strategy game, so the right thing for the civfanatics crowd. You play a civilization during the age of imperialism, and you try to dominate the old and the new world. As normal for these type of games, you manage resources, build units, and annihilate your enemies. The citizens of your empire have different social classes, and require and produce different resources, and might get unhappy due to different reasons. Religion, trade and the black market, and technology progress also play a role.

Does it sound like the right civ-style game for you? Then head to Steam, and get Imperial Ambitions with a 10% discount, for right now €22.94 instead of 25.49. Not sure about it? There is also a free demo available, so no excuse to not dive into this game ;). And obviously come and discuss with us in this thread here.

Sullla’s AI Survivor: Walk Like an Egyptian!

By | July 13, 2026
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Ramesses wins Season 9 Championship!

Sullla’s AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Championship Recap: Ramesses of Egypt claimed an overwhelmingly dominant Space Victory to seize the Season 9 crown, and “dominant” isn’t hyperbole—this game was effectively over by the mid‑game. Favored Victoria of England stumbled early thanks to a mix of crucial misplays, some bad luck, and the unwelcome attention of aggressive neighbors Joao of Portugal and Zara of Ethiopia. Ramesses, meanwhile, spent ages quietly snowballing, pairing steady expansion with early shrine income to pull ahead of the field technologically. His first major war came when he teamed with Louis of France to eliminate the struggling Gandhi. Once India was gone, Louis made the disastrous choice to backstab a far more advanced Egypt, and France was swiftly erased as a result. From there, Ramesses coasted unchallenged to Alpha Centauri, finishing with an exceptionally early Turn 275 Space Victory.

The full Championship Game is now available on YouTube (linked at the top) for anyone who wants to watch the thrilling Season 9 finale unfold.

That’s a wrap, folks — Season 9 of AI Survivor has officially crossed the finish line and is heading off for a well‑earned nap. Season 10 will be back next spring, bringing fresh drama, new surprises, and the usual dose of AI‑powered nonsense. Stick around and join us when the chaos resumes.

Saxo Grammaticus represented Civfanatics majestically this season by winning the overall picking contest by an impressive margin. Saxo surged during the playoff and championship rounds with consistent success to overtake the field. Please congratulate him. Thrasybulos finished 5th in the contest, while a-pen-dragon finished in 6th. (Both were knocked down a notch by Thrasy’s own SmartRandom.org AI contestant, which finished 3rd…LOL) Kaitzilla was the top fanatic in the Championship game picking contest, finishing 4th. Overall, Civfanatics’ members performed exceptionally this season.

We welcome you to join the post-season 9 discussion here.