Civilization 7: Every Civilization and how to unlock them in each Age

Civilization 7 made a lot of changes to the existing formula for the series, and even experienced players will have a lot to get to grips with. One of the biggest is how your chosen civilization progresses through the Ages, changing as it does.

When you head into a new campaign, you will be prompted to select a leader (who you will stick with throughout) and a civilization. The latter will change as you enter the Exploration Age, before changing again when you go into the Modern Age.

Unlike your initial selection, your civilization in later stages is detected by several factors, including which leader you chose and how you played the game in the preceding Age. At the start of a new Age, a civilization will be unlocked, as long as you have met one of the existing criteria.

With the whole thing being more complicated than in previous editions, we’ve broken down every civilization, their benefits, and how to unlock them in later ages.

Antiquity Age civilizations explained

As previously mentioned, the Antiquity Age is the first in Civilization 7 and you’ll be able to select your chosen culture without restriction or requirement.

Aksumite

• Unique Ability: Kingdom of Natural Wealth – Increased Gold on resources.
• Attributes: Cultural & Economic
• Unique Units: Dhow/Tankwa
• Associated Wonder: Great Stele

Egyptian

• Unique Ability: Gifts of Osiris – Increased Production on Navigable Rivers.
• Attributes: Cultural & Economic
• Unique Units: Medjay/Tjaty
• Associated Wonder: Pyramids

Greek

• Unique Ability: Demokratia – Increased Influence per turn on the Palace.
• Attributes: Cultural & Diplomatic
• Unique Units: Hoplite/Logios
• Associated Wonder: Oracle

Han

• Unique Ability: Nine Provinces – The Capital and new Towns gain an additional Population with their first growth event.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Scientific
• Unique Units: Chu-Ko-Nu/Shi Dafu
• Associated Wonder: Weiyang Palace

Khmer

• Unique Ability: Ksekam Chamnon – Urban Districts on Rivers do not remove the natural yield of the tile.
• Attributes: Expansionist & Scientific
• Unique Units: Yuthahathi/Vaishya
• Associated Wonder: Angkor Wat

Mauryan

• Unique Ability: Dhamma Lipi – You can choose an additional Pantheon after unlocking Mysticism.
• Attributes: Militaristic & Scientific
• Unique Units: Purabhettarah/Nagarika
• Associated Wonder: Sanchi Stupa

Maya

• Unique Ability: The Palace gains Science for adjacent Vegetated tiles.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Scientific
• Unique Units: Hul’che/Jaguar Slayer
• Associated Wonder: Mundo Perdido

Mississippian

• Unique Ability: Goose Societies – All Buildings receive a +1 Food adjacency for Resources.
• Attributes: Economic & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Burning Arrow/Watonathi
• Associated Wonder: Monks Mound

Persian

• Unique Ability: Hamarana Council – Infantry Units receive increased Combat Strength when attacking.
• Attributes: Economic & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Immortal/Hazarapatis
• Associated Wonder: Gate of All Nations

Roman

• Unique Ability: Twelve Tables – Adds Culture on Districts in the Capital and Towns.
• Attributes: Cultural & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Legion/Legatus
• Associated Wonder: Colosseum

Exploration Age civilizations explained

Dexerto/Firaxis Games

The Exploration Age is the first point at which your civilization will change and you’ll be asked to choose who you want to lead next. You won’t be able to pick from the entire pool of Exploration Age civilizations, with the choices on offer decided by what prerequisites you met in Antiquity.

Depending on how you want to play through the campaign, planning ahead so you can pick civs that suit your agenda is key. In order to make sure the right civilization is available to you, you need to meet one of the conditions listed under the empires below.

Abbasid

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Ibn Battuta
  • Play as Persia
  • Play as Egypt
  • Upgrade three Camels.
• Unique Ability: Medina – Receive Gold for each Rural Population of the City when you create a Specialist. Effect scales with Game Speed.
• Attributes: Cultural & Scientific
• Unique Units: Mamluk/Alim
• Associated Wonder: House of Wisdom

Chola

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Ashoka (World Renouncer) or Ashoka (World Conqueror).
  • Play as Maurya India.
  • Play as Khmer.
  • Have three Settlements with City Centers near coastal regions
• Unique Ability: Samayam – Gain an additional Trade Route from Trade Agreements.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Economic
• Unique Units: Kalam/Ottru
• Associated Wonder: Brihadeeswarar Temple

Hawaiian

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as José Rizal.
  • Play as Maya.
  • Play as Mississippian.
  • Have two Settlements on an Island
• Unique Ability: Moananuiākea – Gain Culture each time a Settlement expands to a Marine tile. Increased Happiness on Fishing Boats.
• Attributes: Cultural/Expansionist
• Unique Units: Leiomano/Kahuna
• Associated Wonder: Hale o Keawe

Incan

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Pachacuti
  • Play as Maya
  • Play as Mississippian
  • Have three Settlements with at least three Mountains apiece
• Unique Ability: Apus – Mountain tiles can be worked. Gain additional Food and Production on Mountains.
• Attributes: Economic & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Warak’aq/Chasqui
• Associated Wonder: Machu Pikchu

Majapahit

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Trung Trac
  • Play as Mauryan
  • Play as Khmer
  • Have three Naval Trade Routes
• Unique Ability: Negara – All Cities except the Capital have an increased Specialist Limit. After the Exploration Age, the Specialist Limit increase goes away, and the Specialists become inactive until you increase the Specialist Limit.
• Attributes: Cultural & Economic
• Unique Units: Cetbang/Pedanda
• Associated Wonder: Borobudur

Ming

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Confucius
  • Play as Han
  • Upgrade three Silk
  • Have eight Resources slotted in the same Settlement
• Unique Ability: Great Canon of Yongle – +50% Science in the Capital, but -15 Science per turn for each Social Policy (not Tradition) slotted.
• Attributes: Economic & Scientific
• Unique Units: Xunleichong/Mandarin
• Associated Wonder: Forbidden City

Mongolian

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Persia
  • Play as Han
  • Upgrade three Horses
  • Have three Siege units
• Unique Ability: Bokh – When you capture an opposing Settlement, gain the strongest Cavalry Unit you can currently train, but receive -50% Production towards Settlers. Gain a Victory Point toward the Non-Sufficit Orbis Victory for controlled Settlements in the Distant Lands and conquered Settlements in the Homelands.
• Attributes: Expansionist & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Keshig/Noyan
• Associated Wonder: Erdene Zuu

Norman

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Charlemagne
  • Play as Greece
  • Play as Rome
  • Upgrade three Iron
  • Build five Walls
• Unique Ability: Normannitas – Land Units receive +1 Movement when Embarked and Land Units adjacent to Coast receive +5 Combat Strength.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Chevalier/Sokeman
• Associated Wonder: White Tower

Shawnee

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Tecumseh
  • Play as Mississippian
  • Improve three Hides
  • Be Suzerain of two City-States
• Unique Ability: Nepekifaki – Settlements built adjacent to Navigable Rivers gain +2 Food on River Terrain, but Cities not built adjacent to a Navigable River receive -10% Food.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Economic
• Unique Units: Kispoko Nena’to/Hoceepkileni
• Associated Wonder: Serpent Mound

Songhai

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Amina
  • Play as Persia
  • Play as Egypt
  • Have three Settlements with three Navigable River tiles apiece
• Unique Ability: Tarikh al-Sudan – Increased Resource Capacity in Cities on Navigable Rivers. Your Trade Ships cannot be Plundered on Navigable Rivers.
• Attributes: Economic/Militaristic
• Unique Units: Gold Bangles Infantry/Tajiro
• Associated Wonder: Tomb of Askia

Spanish

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Isabella
  • Play as Greece
  • Play as Rome
  • Reconquer a previously lost Settlement
• Unique Ability: Siglo de Oro – +15% Gold towards converting a town to a City, or +30% in Distant Lands.
• Attributes: Expansionist & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Tercio/Conquistador
• Associated Wonder: El Escorial

Modern Age civilizations explained

Dexerto/Firaxis Games

The Modern Age is where your campaign will come to a head and making sure you’re in charge of the right civilization is as important as it’s going to get. As you try to go all out for the win, these are the options on the table and how to get them.

American

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Benjamin Franklin
  • Play as Harriet Tubman
  • Play as Tecumseh
  • Play as Rome
  • Play as the Shawnee
  • Play as the Normans
  • Have three Distant Land Settlements in Plains or Grasslands.
• Unique Ability: Frontier Expansion – Gain 100 Gold every time you Improve a Resource.
• Attributes: Economic & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Marine/Prospector
• Associated Wonder: Statue of Liberty

Bugandan

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Amina
  • Play as the Abbasids
  • Play as Songhai
  • Have two settlements with a City Center near a lake
• Unique Ability: River Raids – Receive additional Culture when pillaging buildings or improvements equal to the yield or healing gained. Land units gain the Amphibious keyword, granting no Combat penalties when attacking from embarkation. Costs no Movement to embark and disembark.
• Attributes: Cultural & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Abambowa/Mwami
• Associated Wonder: Muzibu Azaala Mpanga

French Imperial

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Lafayette
  • Play as Napoleon (Emperor) or Napoleon (Revolutionary)
  • Play as Rome
  • Play as the Normans
  • Upgrade three Wine
• Unique Ability: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité – You can select the celebration effects of any Government in the Modern Age.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Garde Imperiale/Jacobin
• Associated Wonder: Eiffel Tower

Meiji Japanese

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Himiko (Queen of Wa) or Himiko (High Shaman)
  • Play as Hawai’i
  • Play as Majapahit
  • Upgrade three Tea
• Unique Ability: Goisshin – When you Overbuild a Building, receive Science equal to a set percentage of the new Building’s Production cost.
• Attributes: Militaristic & Scientific
• Unique Units: Mikasa/Zero
• Associated Wonder: Dogo Onsen

Mexican

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Isabella
  • Play as Tecumseh
  • Play as Maya
  • Play as the Shawnee
  • Play as the Inca
  • Play as Spain
  • Have three Distant Land Settlements in Desert or Tropical.
• Unique Ability: Revolucion – Start with a unique Government type, Revolución. This Government has one Celebration effect, granting a large Culture boost for a set number of turns. Cannot enter any other Government type.
• Attributes: Cultural & Diplomatic
• Unique Units: Soldaderas/Revolucionario
• Associated Wonder: Palacio de Bellas Artes

Mughal

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Persia
  • Play as Chola India
  • Play as the Abbasids
  • Upgrade three Salt
  • Have four Trade Routes or more with unique Civilizations
• Unique Ability: Paradise of Nations – +75% Gold from all sources & -25% to all other yields.
• Attributes: Economic & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Sepoy/Zamindar
• Associated Wonder: Red Fort

Prussian

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Friedrich (Oblique) or Friedrich (Baroque)
  • Play as Rome
  • Upgrade three Niter
  • Have three Army Commanders
• Unique Ability: Blood and Iron – Units receive increased Combat Strength for every Unfriendly or worse Relationship with other civilizations.
• Attributes: Diplomatic & Militaristic
• Unique Units: Hussar/Stuka
• Associated Wonder: Brandenburg Gate

Qing

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Han China
  • Play as Ming China
  • Play as Mongolia
  • Upgrade three Jade
• Unique Ability: Qian Shengshi – Increase Gold, Culture, and Influence from Imported Resources, but decrease Science from Imported Resources.
• Attributes: Economic & Expansionist
• Unique Units: Gusa/Hangshang
• Associated Wonder: Chengde Mountain Resort

Russian

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Catherine
  • Play as Greece
  • Play as Mongolia
  • Have three Settlements in Tundra
• Unique Ability: Prosveshchenie – Increased Culture on Urban Districts in Cities. Increased Science on Urban Districts in Cities on Tundra tiles.
• Attributes: Cultural & Scientific
• Unique Units: Cossack/Katyusha Rocket Launcher
• Associated Wonder: Hermitage

Siamese

• Unlock Requirement
  • Play as Khmer
  • Play as Chola India
  • Upgrade three Ivory
  • Have four Temples
• Unique Ability: Itsaraphab – Grants a Diplomatic Action to immediately become Suzerain of a City-State at a higher Influence cost than Befriending Independents.
• Attributes: Cultural & Diplomatic
• Unique Units: Chang Beun/Uparat
• Associated Wonder: Doi Suthep

That’s all there is to know! Make sure to check out our full tier list for every leader in Civilization 7, so you can achieve all of your political and military ambitions.