Civilization VII has been officially released, but its daily player count on Steam is still lower than that of Civilization VI. Data from SteamDB shows that Civilization 6 remains the top choice for many Turn-Based Strategy players, even after years since its launch.
Although Civilization VII brought a variety of innovations, it still wasn't able to surpass its predecessor in the number of active players.
Player Count Comparison
Based on data from SteamDBCivilization VI recorded the highest number of simultaneous players at 162,657 players, while Civilization V reached 91,363 players. On the other hand, Civilization VII, after a full launch, was only able to reach 84,558 players at a time. In comparison, Civilization V reached that number more than a decade ago, when there were far fewer Steam users than there are today.
At Steam ranking for number of simultaneous playersCivilization VII was indeed higher than Civilization VI. Currently, Civilization VII is at position #27 in the list of most concurrent players, while Civilization VI is at position #33. However, in a more stable daily player count chart, Civilization VI is still ahead of Civilization VII in the total number of players in the last 24 hours.
Challenges Facing Civilization VII
One of the main factors that keep Civilization VII from surpassing Civilization 6 is content. Civilization VII doesn't have as many expansions and DLC as Civilization V and VI, so it feels more limited. In addition, some systems such as Diplomacy have been simplified, while the game's three-era structure feels like it still needs an additional era for civilization to progress to the modern age.
Civilization VII's interface (UI) also received a lot of criticism from the community, which caused some players to choose to keep playing Civilization VI. This can be seen from the user reviews on Steam, where Civilization VII has an average rating of "Mixed", indicating that many players are still hesitant to switch to the latest version.
The Future of Civilization VII
Firaxis has released some initial updates and promises to continue providing updates to improve various aspects of the game. They announced plans to improve the UI, add community-requested features, and enhance the overall quality of the gaming experience.
"We are actively listening to all feedback, and are currently working on a free update for the game, including a UI overhaul, the addition of community-requested features, as well as various quality-of-life updates," he said. Firaxis in a statement last week. Currently, the community has also started coming up with various mods to enhance the Civilization VII gaming experience.
In addition, the growing modding support may also be a factor that helps Civilization VII be more accepted by players. Like previous games, Civilization VII is likely to undergo many changes as time goes on through various updates and expansions to come.
Many players still feel satisfied with Civilization VI, especially those who have spent hundreds to thousands of hours in the game. Switching to Civilization VII may not be a priority for them yet, unless there are major changes or attractive discounts in the future. Firaxis has a long history of supporting Civilization games with regular updates and additional content, so it's possible that Civilization VII will grow even more and attract more players in the next few years.
Source: SteamDB
