There’s a lot to be excited about with the return of an iconic strategy series inSid Meier’s Civilization 7, but one change that the game is making has already upset plenty of longtime fans. As a franchise that’s helped to define the 4X genre (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate),Civilizationhas attracted huge audiences and significant critical acclaim with every mainline entry. Guiding an empire across the ages can be an incredibly engaging task, especially when conducting diplomacy and war with friends in the long-standing multiplayer component of the games.
Some of the changes thatCivilization 7is promising seem like interesting ways to shake up the series, even if they might not appeal to every fan.The biggest departure from prior games is the ability to switch civilizations as the game progresses between ages, a concept similar to therecent 4X competitorHumankind.Major shake-ups to the formula come with certain drawbacks, but they do provide an incentive to playCivilization 7rather than just sticking to previous entries, a challenge that the series has to become increasingly creative to overcome without the major technological leaps of the past.
Civilization 7 Won’t Feature Hot Seat Multiplayer
A Series Staple Feature Isn’t Returning
Onealteration toCivilization 7doesn’t come with any clear upsides, however, and it’s the removal of hot seat multiplayer gameplay. Although playingCivilizationover the internet is the modern standard for the multiplayer experience, especially considering how easy platforms like Discord make it to connect with friends, it’s never been the only option for multiplayer.Hot seat, a staple sinceCivilization 2, allowed players sitting at one computer to take turns in sequence, with a name that references the idea of physically swapping out places in a seat in front of the screen.
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While hot seat wouldn’t work for many games, it functioned well enough for theCivilizationexperience despite slowing down the pace a bit. The concept behindCivilization-style strategy is arguably more connected to strategic board games than it is to most classic video games, and hot seat turnsCivilizationinto something of a souped-up board game experience where the screen takes the place of the game table. StandardCivilizationsettings force players to take turns in sequence during warfare anyway, so battles are waged at the same pace even in online multiplayer.
Fans Have Made A Petition For Civilization 7 Hot Seat
Hot Seat’s Quiet Removal Isn’t Going Unnoticed
Some members ofCivilizationcommunity aren’t takingCivilization 7’s removal of hot seat multiplayer lightly, as evidenced by aChange.orgpetition called “Bring back hotseat in Civilization VII” that was created by HM G and shared by52whaleon Reddit. A top comment fromChumpNicholsoncompares the change to"removing splitscreen from Halo" as something that makes sense with changing times but still inspires a sense of mourning. With a goal of 1000 signatures, the petition is currently sitting at over 600.
More than anything else,hot seat is something that’s created fond memories for manyCivilizationplayers. The broad appeal of the series made it possible to easily rope family members and local friends into playing the game, and being able to do so with only one computer and one copy of the game was valuable, especially at a time when having one family computer was a common standard. Like with board games, the additional in-person connection can add another layer of enjoyment to the experience that’s hard to replicate over a voice call.
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Realistically, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the vast majority ofCivilization7players were unlikely to touch a hot seat mode, but that doesn’t make its removal easy to digest.For people who still use it religiously, the change will be a huge loss. Even if it saves some development time and resources, it also doesn’t feel like a necessary removal. While split-screen getting removed from many modern games can be more easily justified by the technical challenges of making split-screen happen on standard hardware with intensive graphics, hot seat doesn’t require the same hurdles.
Across the board, it’s a bit frustrating to see games continue to drop support for local multiplayer experiences. There are certainly titles still carrying the banner forward — thenewest patch forBaldur’s Gate 3just expanded its local multiplayer support to include dynamic split-screen technology — butlocal multiplayer has become a significantly more niche option.Civilizationgames do at least use peer-to-peer multiplayer rather than online servers, so there isn’t a concern about support eventually disappearing, but many games that do use online servers have limited multiplayer lifespans.
Civilization Hot Seat Matters Regardless Of Popularity
There’s More To A Game Than Just Numbers
This is one scenario where fan support for hot seat might actually stand a chance of bringing about some change, as implementing hot seat at a later date wouldn’t require any fundamental shift in the game’s design or priorities. From a monetary standpoint, the decision to develop hot seat likely doesn’t make sense to developer Firaxis Games and publisher 2K, but there’s more to curating an audience than statistics.Hot seat fans can be some of the most dedicatedCivilizationplayers, even if they’re easy to discount in the big picture.
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Civilization 7certainly isn’t the first game in the series to court some controversy at launch, as it’s consistently hard to live up to the legacy of prior entries.Civilization 5, often held up as a gold standard, was heavily criticized at launch due to its lack of some core features from the fantasticCivilization 4.Civilization 6delivered a more complete package at launch, but a number of changes didn’t sit well for fans of the thoroughly expandedCivilization 5: Complete, from basic complaints about the artstyle to deeper criticisms of the game’s systems.
Civilization 5provides a example of hot seat not being included at launch and being patched in later.
Like everyCivilizationgame,Civilization 7is likely to be a great experience on a fundamental level, hot seat or no hot seat. It would be sad to see a staple feature of the series go with so little fanfare, however, and a portion of the community obviously feels strongly about the subject. Hot seat might not be critical to the success ofSid Meier’s Civilization 7, but that doesn’t mean its removal isn’t something to mourn.
Sources:Change.org, Reddit (52whale,ChumpNicholson)
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII empowers players to guide their empires through three distinct Ages—Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern—each offering unique civilizations and challenges. For the first time, leaders and civilizations can be mixed and matched, allowing unprecedented strategic combinations.
