Can I play Civilization 7 on Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and other gaming handhelds?
Civilization 7 is launching with Steam Deck verification, as stated in a Community page post on Steam. This suggests it will run well on all gaming handhelds. I've yet to test Civ 7 performance on my Steam Deck, but it will be a part of my review when the embargo lifts on February 3, 2025.
Looking at Civilization 7's official Steam Deck Compatibility pop-up, Valve gives a pass for functionality using the default controls (including controller icons), in-game text legibility, and default graphics performance.
This should translate well to other popular gaming handhelds, including the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.
Civilization 7 PC recommended hardware
The Civ 7 Steam page lists system requirements for Windows and SteamOS/Linux. Unsurprisingly, they're nearly the same. Let's start with minimum specs.
On PC, Firaxis is suggesting a minimum Intel Core i5-4690, Core i3-10100, or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor. The game needs at least 8GB of RAM. For GPUs, you're looking at an NVIDIA GTX 1050, Intel Arc A390, or AMD RX 460. It'll eat up about 20GB of hard drive space.
Recommended Civ 7 PC specs include an Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X CPU, NVIDIA RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 6600, or Intel Arc A750 GPU, and 16GB of RAM. The only major changes for SteamOS/Linux are 25GB of available hard drive space and a slight boost for GPUs up to an NVIDIA GTX 1060 and AMD Radeon RX 580.
Considering how much power modern PC gaming handhelds have to offer — even despite a discrete GPU, relying instead on a modern AMD APU — I don't expect there to be any major hiccups when I begin testing performance on my Steam Deck.
What is Civilization 7?
Civilization 7 is the next entry in the legendary Sid Meier series, and it's expected to launch on February 11, 2025. It's coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch,
Civ 7 gameplay was first revealed mid-way through 2024. Unlike Civilization 6, which felt more like a tweaked sequel to Civilization 5, the new Civ 7 brings some significant changes to the series.
For example, leaders are no longer exclusive to certain civilizations. Each age is now separated by a soft rest for all players, at which time you choose a new civilization to lead through the age at hand. It's proving to be a fun way to play, and it opens up countless new strategies that can be changed depending on how your opponents are playing.
The new Commander Units for air, land, and water make waging war a lot less tedious, and they can provide huge benefits on the open battlefield or at home. I urge you to check out the Civilization 7 preview I wrote after 20 hours of play for a more in-depth breakdown of the changes.
