Firaxis has shared a detailed look at Civilization VII’s upcoming True Start Location (TSL) Earth map, one of the free features planned for Update 1.5.0 during the week of September 14. The Huge map places civilizations near the real-world locations of their historical capitals, while adapting the globe for Civ VII’s Age system and modern map features.
According to Live Lead Taymoor, TSL Earth has three landmasses — the Americas, Africa & Eurasia, and Oceania — which remain Distant Lands from one another until the Exploration Age. Players retain their position through Age Transitions, even if they choose a different civilization.
The team built the map from scratch and made it Huge-only, with the far north and south compressed to create more useful space in crowded regions. Islands such as Japan, the UK, and Hawaii have also been enlarged so their starting civilizations have room to develop.
Other details include hand-placed, historically inspired resources; major navigable rivers; and seven randomly selected Natural Wonders, each appearing in its appropriate geographic region. When multiple civilizations would begin within three tiles of one another, AI players can be moved to unused TSL locations; human single-player starts will not be moved. TSL Earth will not support Advanced Starts, so campaigns begin in Antiquity.
Firaxis says the map will be available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Read the full developer breakdown on Steam, then join the discussion in the CivFanatics forums.