Civilization II modder’s work featured in PC Gamer special report

By | July 25, 2026
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PC Gamer has featured Civilization II modder Blake’s crossover projects and preservation work in a two-page special-report spread, according to a post published this week on Blake’s Sanctum.

PC Gamer Issue 419 spread featuring Civilization II modder Blake and Metro’s Heroes of Might and Magic II project
The PC Gamer Issue 419 feature. Image via Blake’s Sanctum; click to view the full-size image.

Blake said the feature appeared in PC Gamer UK Issue 419 (March 2026), with the article also reaching PC Gamer US Issue 407 (April 2026). The coverage highlights the Civilization II: Heroes of Might and Magic II project created by Blake and Metro, alongside other Civilization II conversions inspired by Command & Conquer, Red Alert, Dune, and Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri.

The report also covers Blake’s effort to preserve lost Civilization II mods and the campaign to bring the 1996 game to modern storefronts such as Steam and GOG. Blake wrote that he had been interviewed for the piece in 2025 and did not know it had been published until he opened the magazine.

It is a notable mainstream spotlight for a corner of the Civilization community that has kept one of the series’ oldest games alive through scenarios, conversions, archives, and restoration work. Civilization II remains especially fertile territory for ambitious total-conversion projects, including the Heroes of Might and Magic II scenario mod that CivFanatics previously covered in 2025.

Blake has posted a readable image of the PC Gamer spread and more context on his site. The original post says this is his second appearance in the magazine, following an earlier feature on his Doom and Hexen total conversions.

Source: Blake’s Sanctum — “I made it to PC Gamer Magazine.. again!!!”

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.