Civ 7 claimed the top spot as the Most Wanted game of 2025, while the game's Creative Director explained new mechanics to make campaigns more engaging. Read on to learn more about PC Gamer's event and the upcoming features in Civ 7.
Civ 7 Gaining Momentum Ahead its 2025 Release
Bagged the Most Wanted Game for 2025
PC Gamer hosted the event PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted on December 6, revealing that Civ 7 grabbed the top spot. The event featured the top 25 most exciting projects in development for next year.
In an almost three-hour-long livestream, PC Gamer showcased the top upcoming games of 2025. The games were ranked according to a vote held by The Council, a 70+ panel that includes "celebrated developers, content creators, and our own editors." Aside from the video game rankings, the event also featured new trailers and content for other games like Let’s Build a Dungeon and Drivers of the Apocalypse.
The second spot was taken by Doom: The Dark Ages, while the third goes to Monster Hunter Wilds. Slay the Spire 2, an upcoming indie game, grabbed the 4th spot on the list. Some games that made it to the list are Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, The Thing: Remastered, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Surprisingly, Hollow Knight: Silksong did not appear on the list, nor was its trailer featured during the event.
Civilization VII will be released simultaneously on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch consoles on February 11, 2025.
Civ 7 Game Mechanic Helps Players Finish Campaign
Civ 7’s Creative Director, Ed Beach, explained a new campaign mechanic, Ages, to help players finish campaign stories during a PC Gamer interview on December 6. According to Firaxis Games’ data on Civ 6, most players did not finish the campaign and saw it as an important issue to address for the upcoming game.
"We had a lot of data that people would play Civilization games and they would never get all the way to the end. They just wouldn’t finish them. And so we wanted to do whatever we could—whether it was reducing micromanagement, restructuring the game—to really address that problem directly," Beach explained.
Civ 7 introduced a new feature called Ages. A single playthrough or campaign is divided into three chapters: Antiquity Age, Exploration Age, and Modern Age. Players can switch to another civilization once an Age ends, reflecting the real-world history of empires as they rise and fall to power.
However, the next civilization cannot be chosen at random. It must have a historical or geographical connection to your previous civilization. For example, the Roman Empire transitions to its Modern Age counterpart, the French Empire, with the Norman Empire acting as a bridge between the two.
Your leader will remain the same even if you switch to another civilization. According to Civ 7’s website, "Leaders persist across all Ages, ensuring you always have a sense of who is part of your empire, and who are your rivals."
Regarding structures left by the previous civilization, there is an "overbuild" feature, where you can construct a building on top of existing ones after transitioning to an Age. However, Wonders and some buildings will remain the same throughout your playthrough.
With these new features, players can experience different civilizations in one playthrough, providing new ways of handling cultural, military, diplomatic, and economic affairs while retaining their attachment to a particular leader.
