Highlights

  • The strategy genre thrived in 2023, with exciting releases like Jagged Alliance 3, Cities: Skylines 2, and Stellaris DLCs.
  • Civilization 7's development is ongoing, but it may need to stick to traditional roots to find success.
  • Ara: History Untold is pushing the 4X genre forward with innovations, while fans look toward Civilization 7's impact.

Strategy genre fans are eating pretty well right now. 2023 saw the release of a number of highly-rated strategy games, ranging from tactical RPG/strategy hybrids like Jagged Alliance 3 to city management games like Cities: Skylines 2 to exciting DLCs for beloved games like Stellaris and Hearts of Iron 4. And though the year's full release calendar is still far from complete, 2024 is looking like it could be another great year for the strategy genre, with Homeworld 3, Frostpunk 2, and Manor Lords all set to drop this year. But Civilization fans might have to wait a little longer for their moment.

Announced back in February 2023, Civilization 7 is currently in active development at Firaxis. It's unclear just how long Civilization 7 has been in development, and even a tentative release date hasn't been given for the long-awaited sequel. But when Civilization 7 does come out, it might end up finding more success if it sticks to its traditional strategy roots.

Ara x Civ
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Sticking With Tradition Might Help Civilization 7 In the Long Run

Games Like Ara: History Untold Are Pushing the 4X Genre Forward

While the 4X genre owes its creation to board games and early, ambitious strategy titles, it was Civilization that first truly popularized the genre back in 1991. But that was decades ago, and the Civilization franchise isn't exactly renowned for its groundbreaking features in the modern strategy scene. For the best part of three decades, Civilization has essentially been an iterative franchise, with each entry simply adding new features and content to the pre-existing formula that was set up all the way back in 1991.

While Civilization 6 is arguably one of the greatest strategy games ever made, many fans felt as though it followed in its predecessors' footsteps a little too closely, bringing some fun new additions to the series, but not really pushing it forward in any truly substantial way. For years, a big point of discussion has been that the next Civilization entry needs to innovate on the current formula, and Civilization 7 is that opportunity.

But there's an interesting new wrinkle that might have some fans changing their tune. The 4X strategy genre is currently seeing a bit of a renaissance right now, with a slew of exciting new titles releasing, all of which are trying to innovate and shake up the genre's most inherent features. Ara: History Untold is the perfect example of this. Set for release later this year, Ara: History Untold is an AAA game being published by Xbox Game Studios that aims to reinvent the 4X genre in a number of ways, from a Prestige scoring system to its simultaneous turns. And Ara: History Untold is far from the only game attempting to do this.

Civilization Should Remain a Comforting Reminder of the Genre's Roots

In the grand scheme of things, it might be better if Civilization remains a more traditional 4X strategy franchise. While many fans want Civilization 7 to innovate on the formula in substantial ways, there could be a sizable benefit to keeping things the way they are right now, and having Civilization 7 simply be iterative. The 4X genre is changing rapidly thanks to games like Ara: History Untold, and in all that change, it might be comforting if Civilization 7 remains a reminder of the genre's simpler days.