Civilization 7's new initiative lets you test features before they go live, including the one you've all been asking for

Ahead of one of the biggest Civilization 7 updates so far, developer Firaxis has unveiled something pleasantly surprising. With a few major new features in the works, it's inviting community members in to test them and shape their development in an attempt to avoid disappointment, dodge balance issues, and deliver exactly what players want. Dubbed the Firaxis Feature Workshop, the struggling strategy game's new initiative gives you a say in what future updates and systems look like - and that includes the biggest of them all, the return to single civ matches.

Innovation is a tricky thing to balance when you're launching a new entry in a long-running series. Too little, and you're accused of repackaging a previous game and charging a premium. Too much, and you can potentially lose sight of what made the series great to begin with. Civilization 7 has definitely suffered from the latter. While some have enjoyed its biggest and boldest experiment - forcing you to play as three different civs across three separate ages - for many it's too radical a departure from the typical flow of a Civilization game. Firaxis recently teased it was working on a mode that would let you once again take a single civ through all three ages, and in a new developer update, creative director Ed Beach verbally confirms this while also revealing the studio's new initiative.

"We're internally playtesting ways to play as one civ continuously through the ages, allowing you to choose a civilization from any age and guide them throughout your journey through history," Beach says. "This is where we're asking you to come in, to help us guide that work. We're launching something new: the Firaxis Feature Workshop. It's our way of opening the door earlier, inviting a small group of community members to get hands-on with features still in development and tell us what's working, what's not, and what's missing so that we can deliver the best possible Civ 7 experience."

Following the launch of patch 1.3.0. today, November 4 - which adds a full naval rework, new civs and leaders, and much more - Beach says you can expect to see "smaller, less frequent updates" going forward as it focuses on big new features like the single-civ mode and gets the Firaxis Feature Workshop up and running.

A separate post about the Workshop also confirms early entrants into the scheme will be testing some big upcoming "changes to Legacy Paths and Victories."

If you want to apply to be part of the Firaxis Feature Workshop, you can do so here. If successful, you'll be sent a link to a private Discord server where you can begin to give feedback on these major additions and evolutions to Civilization 7.

If you're still unsure on Civ 7, or you're looking to take a break from it, here are some sensational 4X games you can play instead. Our best games like Civilization guide is similarly packed with excellent recommendations.