Civilization VI for PC has been out for just over a year now, and we just got word of the first major expansion of the game, which has been dubbed Rise and Fall. Much like the Gods and Kings expansion from Civilization V, this expansion adds a ton of new content for players to dive into and enjoy.
When is it available?
The Rise and Fall expansion should be available for download on February 8, 2018. You can preorder it now from Greenman gaming, Steam, and Gamestop, and it costs $29.99. (The game is also available for macOS.)
Are there new Civilizations?
Yes. While there isn't any news quite yet on exactly which Civilizations are being added, there is a crop of them. There are Nine new Civilizations to add to the mix, along with eight new leaders.
So far, only the first new Civilization has been announced. Queen Seondeok will be joining the game as the ruler of Korea.
What are these new ages?
One of the big new additions to Civilization VI is Ages. An Age lasts for an Era of gameplay and can make things easier — or more difficult — during those times.
Golden Ages will give you boosts to loyalty and other in-game systems, but triggering a Golden Age will make it harder to earn another one later on. Dark Ages will hurt Loyalty, and make your cities more vulnerable, but it makes it easier to trigger a Golden Age later on. Playing in a Dark Age will also open up specific policies, and give you access to triggering a Heroic Age — which gives you three times the bonuses of a Golden Age.
When you move to a new Era, you may trigger a Golden or Dark age. This is controlled by a behind-the-scenes algorithm which takes into account your score in the previous Era, fulfilling certain objectives and individual player advancement.
Loyalty will change borders
In previous Civilization games, once you reached a certain point it was easy to see the borders of your cities. Growth slowed down, and it was easy to see where you and other civilizations bumped up against one another. With Loyalty, these boundaries aren't quite so set in stone.
You'll have to court your cities to keep them Loyal, or they can declare their independence as a Free City. Free Cities are able to be taken by other plays, meaning that keeping your citizens Loyal becomes very important. Not only will you want to court the Loyalty of cities you founded, but there are ways you can flip an enemy city by taking advantage of different Loyalty bonuses from various Ages.
Governors give you new options for managing your cities
Governors are now earned during gameplay, and similar to districts, they are a way to specialize your city. Each one has its own skill tree, along with specific avenues where they are most valuable. One is great at protecting against attack, while another is handy when you're trying to grow a new city.
You'll earn Governors in-game, and each time you can earn up to seven of them. Of course, you'll have to weigh between leveling up an existing Governor or creating a new one. They each have a unique personality and can be used to specifically specialize a city.
Emergency Situations let you band together against a common enemy
Emergency Situations will occur in-game when a player gets a major advantage by completing certain actions, such as converting a Holy City to a different religion. When this happens the other players of the game are given the ability to band together to complete a specific objective.
You can join in, or avoid these Emergency Situations, making things a bit more dynamic even if a single player manages to pull ahead early.
Are there any new wonders or buildings?
Yep, you will also get access to some great new buildings, units, and districts. While we don't know what they'll be yet, there will also be eight new world wonders that can be built in your city.
Anything else?
For now, this is everything that we know about the Rise and Fall expansion of Civilization VI. There's sure to be plenty more to sink your teeth into before it releases though, so check back in with us in a few weeks!
