Firaxis has set the tone for its upcoming 4X by laying out Sid Meier’s Civilization VII system requirements. As you’d expect, it’s fairly tame on the lower end if all you want to do is boot and play. Aim for a more detailed experience, and you might want to consider upgrading.
Immediately, I’m in awe that the game asks for a meagre 20GB of storage space. It feels unfair to compare it with the 100GB RPGs of the world, like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but this is indicative of the way games are headed. Instead, I’ll just say it even beats its predecessor by a few gigabytes. It still mandates the quicker speeds of an SSD, but that’s expected in 2024. After all, Civ VI has nightmare loading times in the endgame when playing on a standard hard drive.
| Minimum | Recommended | Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 1080p / 30fps Low graphics |
1080p / 60fps Medium graphics |
4K / 60fps High graphics |
| OS | Windows 10 or 11 | Windows 10 or 11 | Windows 10 or 11 |
| DirectX | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-10100 AMD Ryzen 3 1200 |
Intel Core i5-10400F AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
Intel Core i7-14700F AMD Ryzen 9 5950X |
| RAM | 8GB | 16GB | 32GB |
| GPU | Nvidia GTX 1050 AMD RX 460 Intel Arc A380 |
Nvidia RTX 2060 AMD RX 6600 Intel Arc A750 |
Nvidia RTX 4070 AMD RX 7800 XT |
| VRAM | 2GB | 6-8GB | 12-16GB |
| Storage | 20GB SSD | 20GB SSD | 20GB SSD |
With Monster Hunter Wilds specs demanding upscaling just to achieve 1080p at 30fps using the lowest graphics preset, it’s refreshing to see something more civilised – pun intended. It sets the bar appropriately low and scales it evenly with clearly defined expectations of what frame rate, resolution, and graphics preset you should achieve with your hardware.
Asking for a seven-year-old AMD Ryzen 3 1200 should make Sid Meier’s latest accessible on Steam Deck, but there is a caveat. Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 flexes a bit more than my favourite handheld, but with a lower native 1280×800 resolution, it giving me hope it’ll at least tick away at 30fps. I can’t say for certain whether you’ll be able to take it on the go with you, and it’s certainly more demanding than Civ VI, but the possibility is there.
Look towards ultra HD resolution, and most rigs will start to sweat. 32GB of RAM paired with Intel’s current-generation i7 (at least until Arrow Lake) and an RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT sets a very ceiling that most don’t meet, according to Steam’s monthly hardware survey. It’s nice to see Intel get some love on the graphics card front, but even Team Blue’s GPUs can’t compete at 4K.
There’s currently no sign of upscalers like Nvidia DLSS or AMD FSR to give you a helping hand, so you’ll need to rely on the raw power of your hardware. Fortunately, the developers at Firaxis have given you plenty of time to get your rig sorted ahead of the game’s February 11, 2025 release date.