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Sid Meier's Civilization VI

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(Redirected from Civilization VI)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Sid Meier's Civilization VI cover
Developers
Firaxis Games
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media[1]
Linux Aspyr Media[2]
Publishers
2K Games
OS X, Linux Aspyr Media[1][2]
Release dates
Windows October 21, 2016[3]
macOS (OS X) October 24, 2016
Linux February 9, 2017[2]
Reception
Metacritic 88
OpenCritic 89
IGDB 87
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC, Subscription gaming service
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Turn-based
Perspectives Bird's-eye view
Controls Point and select
Genres 4X, TBS
Themes Historical
Series Civilization
Sid Meier's Civilization VI on HowLongToBeat
Sid Meier's Civilization VI on IGDB
Sid Meier's Civilization VI guide on StrategyWiki
Sid Meier's Civilization VI on MobyGames
Sid Meier's Civilization VI on Wikipedia
Sid Meier's Civilization 1991
Freeciv (unofficial) 1996
Sid Meier's Civilization II 1996
Civilization II: Test of Time 1999
Sid Meier's Civilization III 2001
Sid Meier's Civilization IV 2005
CivCity: Rome 2006
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization 2008
Sid Meier's Civilization V 2010
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth 2014
Sid Meier's Civilization VI 2016

Sid Meier's Civilization VI is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view 4X and TBS game in the Civilization series.

The game received two major expansion packs: Rise and Fall in February 2018, and Gathering Storm in February 2019, both introducing new civilizations, units, mechanics and scenarios. It also received a number of minor DLC with a smaller number of civilizations and scenarios; despite their modular nature, all players need to own them in multiplayer in order to use their content.

From May 2020 to March 2021, the game received content that was part of the New Frontier Pass, which included several minor expansions that would include one or two new civilizations, but were bundled with new game modes as well. The final piece of new content, the Leader Pass from November 2022, gradually released alternate leaders for existing civilizations.

The game includes a benchmark option.

General information

Official 2K Games forum
Civilization Wiki - A detailed wiki for all Civilization games and their spin offs
Civilization Fanatics' Civilization VI section
Civilization Fanatics' Civilization VI Forums
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
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Only the base game was released at retail.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Publisher website
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Digital Deluxe version also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Amazon.com
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Digital Deluxe Edition also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Amazon.co.uk
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Digital Deluxe Edition also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Epic Games Store
DRM-free after installation through Epic Games Launcher (notes may include more details)
DRM-free when launched directly from executable. Aztec DLC also Included[4]
Windows
GamersGate
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Digital Deluxe, Platinum and Anthology Editions also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Digital Deluxe, Platinum and Anthology Editions also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Digital Deluxe, Platinum and Anthology Editions also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Humble Store
DRM details are not known
Digital Deluxe, Platinum and Anthology Editions also available for Steam.
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Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Mac App Store
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macOS (OS X)
Microsoft Store
Microsoft Store
Platinum Edition and Anthology Edition also available.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Digital Deluxe, Platinum and Anthology Editions also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All Linux versions require Steam DRM.

Demo

A free demo is available via Steam (allow Steam popup): steam://install/537570.

Version differences

The Digital Deluxe version includes a 25th Anniversary Digital Soundtrack and access to four post-launch DLC packs.
The Platinum Edition bundle includes the base game and the DLC content that was not part of the New Frontier Pass.
The Anthology bundle includes the base game and all DLC, including the New Frontier Pass and Leader Pass content.
The Mac App Store version is single player only.

Monetization

Type Notes
DLC Minor DLC includes one or two civilizations, as well as scenarios and secondary game modes.
Expansion pack Expansion packs include multiple civilizations, mechanics, and secondary game modes.
One-time game purchase The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Rise and Fall Expansion
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Gathering Storm Expansion
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Khmer and Indonesia Civilization & Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Nubia Civilization & Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Poland Civilization & Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Vikings Scenario Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Maya & Gran Colombia Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Ethiopia Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Teddy Roosevelt Persona Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass, can not be purchased separately
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Byzantium & Gaul Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Catherine de Medici Persona Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass, can not be purchased separately
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Babylon Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Vietnam & Kublai Khan Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Portugal Pack Part of the New Frontier Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Leader Pass Contains small leader DLCs to be released from November 21, 2022 to March 2023.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Essential improvements

Automatic unit cycling

Disable automatic unit cycling[5]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit UserOptions.txt.
  3. Change AutoUnitCycle 1 to AutoUnitCycle 0

Notes

This will stop the game from automatically switching to the next unit after ending the turn of another unit.
Since the first official patch, this is an ingame option as well.

Skip intro videos

Disable the intro Video at game startup[6]

Replace logos.bk2 with the replacement .bk2 file.

For the Gathering Storm expansion, replace LOGO_2KFiraxis.bk2 in Base\Platforms\Windows\Movies folder.

Edge scrolling

Fix top edge scrolling being triggered before the mouse reaches the edge of the screen[7]
  1. In the installation directory, open Base\Assets\UI\WorldInput.xml.
  2. Find the line Container ID="TopScreenEdge" Anchor="L,T" Size="Full,30" Offset="0,28".
  3. Change it to Container ID="TopScreenEdge" Anchor="L,T" Size="Full,2" Offset="0,0".
  4. Save the file.

Notes

This fix is neither needed nor applicable for game versions released after the Gathering Storm expansion.
Actually with UI scaling in Gathering Storm fix is still required, but instead EdgeScroll.xml should be edited.

UI scaling

Apply UI scaling at any resolution[8]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open AppOptions.txt.
  3. Set the UIUpscale setting to the percentage of scaling desired.
  4. Save the file.

Notes

UI scaling is available as an in-game option at 4K resolutions and scales the interface by 2x.
Example: a UIUpscale value of 0.25 will increase the UI size by 25%. At 1440p, values between 0.2 and 0.3 work well.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\
Microsoft Store
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/
Mac App Store
Linux $XDG_DATA_HOME/aspyr-media/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/
This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Saves\
Microsoft Store
Epic Games Launcher %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Epic)\Saves\
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/Saves/
Mac App Store $HOME/Library/Containers/Civilization VI/Data/Library/Application Support/Sid Meier’s Civilization VI/Saves[9]
Linux $XDG_DATA_HOME/aspyr-media/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/Saves/

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud
A 2K Account (formerly my2K) can be used for save synchronization.

Video

Video settings.
Video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Default: Exclusive fullscreen
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Always on, cannot be disabled
Anti-aliasing (AA)
MSAA 2X/4X/8X
Vertical sync (Vsync)
On by default
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Includes optional fps cap with 20, 30 and 60 fps settings
Can go up to 144fps, possibly higher. (Currently bugged, defaults to 60fps)
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode
Protanopia, Deuteranopia and Tritanopia

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Some possible keybindings are missing, but for the most part everything that has a shortcut can be reconfigured.
Mouse acceleration
Uses windows hardware cursor, so follows the windows setting
(Enhance pointer precision = on)
Mouse sensitivity
Windows hardware cursor, 1:1 movement if you run the game at your desktop resolution
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Steam Controller only.
Controller types
Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, SFX, Ambient, Speech
Surround sound
5.1 Supported, follows windows speaker settings
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Can be toggled on/off
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Narrated by Sean Bean
Belarusian
Fan translation, Steam Workshop.
Simplified Chinese
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation.
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Notes
Local play
Hot seat
LAN play
Requires an active internet connection (presumably for games with the May 2023 update installed) [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] . Can be abused to set up teams in Single Player
Online play
Asynchronous multiplayer
Known as 'Play by Cloud' under multiplayer
Uses Epic Online Services for Epic-Games Store Version of the game.

VR support

Issues fixed

Linux

Game crashes on launch

If your game crashes immediately after launching it you can try changing your launch options to: LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6 LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/openssl-1.0 %command%

Should that not work, you can try this instead: LD_PRELOAD=$HOME/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/steam-runtime/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfontconfig.so.1 %command%

If you use Wayland, you might also need to set QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb for the launcher to work.[16]

Windows

Game is shown as running in Steam or Epic Games Launcher even after quitting.[4]

Open task Manager and end the process "QtWebEnginerProcess.exe" .

Game crashes when loading into game

Game crashes after purchasing New Frontier Pass / Installing new mods
  1. Go to Additional Content → Mods
  2. Disable various mods (both official DLCs and community created mods) until the game no longer crashes upon loading into a game
This is because Civ VI engine has a strict limit on how many assets it can load. Both official DLCs and community mods count towards this limit. Once this limit is passed, the game crashes.

Notes

Even contents that are not loaded into the specific game (such as Multiplayer scenario packs when playing single player) count towards this limit
Lower end GPUs such as Intel HD Graphics seem to have lower asset limit

Other information

Disable narration

Disable narration of loading screen and researched technologies text[17]
  1. Go to the <path-to-game>\Base\Platforms\Windows\audio folder.
  2. Delete all language folders, while leaving the *.wav files untouched.
  3. For any expansion packs or DLCs installed, delete all the language folders under <path-to-game>\DLC\<dlc-folder>\platforms\windows\audio, where each DLC will be found in a separate <dlc-folder>.

Notes

It is not enough to delete the folder of the language your game is set to, e.g. English. This will make the game use the next-available language, e.g. Chinese.
Non-voice game sounds, for example UI actions, unit movement and combat sounds, and so on, are not affected by this mod and will still be enabled.

Bypass launcher

Bypass the 2K launcher and open game directly from library (Steam Only)[18]
  1. In your Steam library list, right-click on Civilization VI
  2. From the pull down menu, select Properties
  3. About the middle of the opened properties window, click on Set Launch Options...
  4. Enter the following line: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization VI\Base\Binaries\Win64Steam\CivilizationVI.exe" %command%
  5. For Linux, set it to "(steam-install-location)/steamapps/common/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/Civ6Sub" %command%
  6. For Mac, set it to "/Users/(account_name)/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/Civ6.app/Contents/MacOS/Civ6_Exe_Child" %command%

Notes

Change path with the game install location.
For the DX12 version, replace CivilizationVI.exe with CivilizationVI_DX12.exe.

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 11, 12
OpenGL
OS X/Linux only
Metal support
Metal support since 5 April 2019
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok Includes Fork Particle.
Audio Wwise
Cutscenes Bink 1.995b

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 7, 8.1, 10
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i3 2.5 GHz
AMD Phenom II 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 12 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GT 450
ATI Radeon HD 5570
1 GB of VRAM
DirectX 11 compatible
A 64-bit operating system is required.
macOS (OS X)
Minimum[19] Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.11.6
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5 2.7 GHz
System memory (RAM) 6 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 15 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M
AMD Radeon HD 6790
Intel Iris Pro
1 GB of VRAM
A 64-bit operating system is required.
Linux
Minimum[20]
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 16.04, SteamOS
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i3-530 2.93 GHz
AMD A8-3870K 3.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 6 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 15 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 650
1 GB of VRAM
AMD/Intel GPUs aren't officially supported.


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Aspyr Media on Twitter - last accessed on 2016-10-04
    "#CivilizationVI is coming to Mac! Preorder now! #2K #AspyrMedia"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Linux Releases February 9! - The Aspyr Blog - last accessed on 2017-02-07
  3. Take One More Turn in Civilization VI :: Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: Sid Meier's Civilization VI - last accessed on 2016-05-11
    "Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, set to launch on PC on October 21, 2016 [...]"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Verified by User:Ultragamer2004 on 2020-05-21
  5. Reddit /r/civ: PSA: You can turn off unit cycling in Civ 6 - last accessed on May 2023
  6. Reddit /r/civ - last accessed on May 2023
  7. Reddit /r/civ: PSA: How to fix edge scrolling in Civilization VI - last accessed on May 2023
  8. Steam Community: How to make the UI bigger - last accessed on May 2023
  9. Civilization VI Mac: FAQ - last accessed on 3 May 2023
  10. " NEW 41MB UPDATE!" Steam Discussions - last accessed on 2024-01-21
  11. "LAN mode not working without active internet connection" Steam Discussions - last accessed on 2024-01-24
  12. "WTF can't play civ 6 LAN without an internet connection anymore?" GameFAQs - last accessed on 2024-01-21
  13. "Offline Local Network game stuck at Confirm Settings" Reddit - last accessed on 2024-01-21
  14. "LAN mode not working without active internet connection" Steam Discussions - last accessed on 2024-01-21
  15. Cannot Create LAN Multiplayer Game "Offline" Civfanatics Forum - last accessed on 2024-01-21
  16. Wayland - ArchWiki - last accessed on 2020-08-29
  17. YouTube: No More Bean - last accessed on May 2023
  18. PSA: How to bypass the launcher in Steam - last accessed on May 2023
  19. Aspyr Blog - last accessed on May 2023
  20. Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI: Rise and Fall - Aspyr