Civilization 7’s Update 1.2.2 Tries to Save the Ages System – But Is It Enough for Jaded Civ Fans?

As someone who’s sunk unholy hours into every Civilization game since II, there’s no sugarcoating it: Civ 7’s launch has been rough. The new “Ages” mechanic-supposedly the big shakeup for the series-has instead left even die-hard fans like me wondering what Firaxis was thinking. Now, with Update 1.2.2 dropping June 17, the team is trying to patch up player complaints with bigger maps, mod support, and key flexibility tweaks. But will it be enough to bring back the magic that made Civ marathons legendary?

Civilization 7’s Update 1.2.2: Big Promises, Bigger Questions

• Ages system still divides the fanbase: Core mechanic fragments campaigns, Firaxis concedes improvements needed
• Large / Huge maps & Steam Workshop: Finally delivers what the series’ community always expects
• “Legacy Paths” and AI tweaks: Players can now tailor empire difficulty and narrative continuity
• Bypass civ unlocks: New option to pick any civilization at Age transitions-no grind required

Feature	Specification
Publisher	Firaxis Games
Release Date	June 17, 2024 (Update 1.2.2)
Genres	Strategy, 4X, Turn-Based
Platforms	PC (Steam), planned for consoles

The painful truth: Civ 7’s “Ages” mechanic hasn’t won the hearts of series veterans—or even many curious newcomers. Swapping out the seamless, century-spanning sweep that defines the grand 4X tradition for era-by-era resets feels risky, sure, but the result has been campaigns full of interruptions and lost momentum. Unlike in Civ 5 or Civ 6, where you nurse a tribe into a tech powerhouse over centuries, every Age transition in Civ 7 wipes away part of your progress, making the climb feel synthetic and fragmented. For a studio like Firaxis, famed for its “just one more turn” magic, that’s a big problem.

With Update 1.2.2, Firaxis isn’t just shoveling in more gameplay settings—they’re tacitly admitting some design missteps. For starters, the addition of Large and Huge map sizes is a no-brainer. Civ fans live for sprawling continents and endless rivalries; until now, Civ 7’s scale felt shockingly cramped. Also overdue: Steam Workshop support, which lets modders finally get their hands dirty. Let’s be real, mods have long been the lifeblood of the Civ community, fixing balance, adding flavor, and—often—rescuing games from vanilla blandness. The fact it took several patches to arrive shows just how far Civ 7 is playing catch-up with its own legacy.

But the real headline here is the new option to “bypass civ unlocks” at Age transitions. If you hated grinding specific unlocks only to be forced into an unwanted civilization for the next era, this one’s for you. You’ll be able to pick any civ at age change, sidestepping one of the biggest player frustrations. Firaxis also promises more toggles: Legacy Paths can be turned on or off, AI and independent powers can be made nastier or friendlier, and you can pick (or limit) which historical “crises” appear. These are good steps, but honestly, they feel like apologies for issues that shouldn’t have shipped in the first place.

Will These Changes Satisfy the Real 4X Crowd?

From my vantage point—and lurking in Civ Discords confirms this—the community is divided. Some people actually dig the “episodic” Age structure for quick, replayable sessions. But most strategy purists are left cold: the whole point of 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) is watching your snowball gather power uninterrupted. Throwing in artificial pauses or resets has never worked for Civ fans. That’s why games like Age of Empires 4 and Ara: History Untold, which preserve that throughline of progression, are eating into Civ’s territory.

The developer blog for Update 1.2.2 acknowledges the empire identity problem directly: “there’s room for improving the player’s sense of empire identity and continuity throughout a multi-Age campaign.” They promise more improvements, including “smaller changes in July focused on Age countdowns and transitions” and bigger stuff further down the road. That’s fine, but you only get one chance to make a first impression. The fact that so many tweaks are reactive rather than proactive doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in Firaxis’s vision for this sequel.

What Does This Mean for Civ Players Right Now?

Bottom line: If you bounced off Civ 7 at launch, Update 1.2.2 is a solid reason to check back in—but keep your expectations grounded. The new options will make the experience closer to what veterans expect, and if you’re the kind of player who lives for fan-made maps and mods, Workshop support is a gamechanger. Just don’t expect Civ 7 to recapture the sprawling, unbroken empire-building glory of Civ 5 or the smoother design of Civ 6 yet. Firaxis is showing they’re listening, but 4X excellence isn’t restored by toggles alone.

The takeaway for strategy diehards? This update is a textbook “we hear you”—but the test is whether Firaxis actually nails the feel of unbroken Civ campaigns in the long run. Until then, keep an eye on upcoming patches, and maybe keep that Civ 5 install handy—just in case.

TL;DR: Civ 7’s June 17 update finally brings bigger maps, mod support, and long-overdue campaign options, but the core “Ages” mechanic still divides the fanbase. It’s a crucial step, but the road back to classic Civ greatness is far from over.