Firaxis Admits Envy Over Early Access, Leaving Door Open for Civilization 8
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Firaxis leadership has expressed jealousy toward developers using early access models, leaving the door open for a potential Civilization 8 to take the unfinished route following Civ 7's divisive launch and slow concurrent user growth.
Civilization 7 has seen its fair share of turbulence since launching early last year, sparking fierce community debates over bold changes like the new age-based progression system. While the team works on upcoming updates like the Test Of Time patch to bring back single-civilization playthroughs and fix late-game pacing, the bumpy rollout has prompted a bigger conversation about how strategy games are built. According to an insightful new feature from Ars Technica, executive producer Dennis Shirk and franchise creative director Ed Beach revealed that Firaxis is quietly envious of studios utilizing a traditional early access model.
While discussing the massive shift from Civilization 6 to the latest entry, the developers noted that player telemetry showed most users never actually finish a single match. That data heavily influenced Civ 7's modular design, and the team is now actively expanding their testing pipeline through structured community programs like the newly formed Firaxis Feature Workshop. When directly asked if the franchise might finally embrace proper early access for a hypothetical Civilization 8, Shirk offered a classic never say never stance, though he acknowledged the steep hurdle of asking players for full price upfront on an unfinished product.
It is a fascinating tension for a genre where 4X strategy games routinely transform over years of post-launch support anyway. Publisher Take-Two Interactive previously admitted that Civ 7 had a slow start on concurrent user charts despite strong preorders, proving that even legendary franchises cannot always muscle through sweeping design pivots without friction. As the lines between early access and live service continue to blur, opening up development loops directly to the player base might just be the evolution long-running strategy series need to stay connected with their communities.
Read the full deep dive over at Rock Paper Shotgun.
Tags: Civilization, Firaxis, PC Gaming, Strategy, Game Development
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun