Sid Meier's Civilization® IV Steam news

• Latest observed players586 · 22 September 2026 - 23:03:57 UTC
• SteamPulse tracked peak1,389
• Units sold (VGI)No data available
• Revenue (VGI)No data available
• Review score92% positive
• Total reviews3,593
• Release dateOct 25, 2006
• DeveloperFiraxis Games
• Publisher2K

Genres: Strategy

Company pages: Developer: Firaxis GamesPublisher: 2K

Top Steam chartsTop 100 gamesGame directorySteam Store page

Sid Meier's Civilization® IV Steam news

Sid Meier's Civilization® IV news collects recent Steam feed items, update posts, and announcements that SteamPulse can associate with this app.

Latest Steam announcements

• Civilization 35th Anniversary Franchise Sale - 3 September 2026

  Celebrate 35 Years of "One More Turn"For over three decades, legendary designer Sid Meier and the team at Firaxis Games have invited players around the world to build empires that stand the test of time. This September, we are celebrating 35 years of rich history alongside the incredible community that made it all possible.Whether you’re a strategy veteran looking to complete your collection or taking your very first turn, there has never been a better time to build your empire.From September 3rd to September 17th, explore deep discounts across the Civilization catalog—including 50% off Sid Meier’s Civilization VII!Build a civilization that stands the test of timeKey titles included in the sale*: Civilization III Complete Edition - 20% Civilization IV Complete Edition - 80% Civilization V - 75% Civilization VI - 90% Civilization VII - 50% Want the latest on Civ VII?Discover developer in…

• Time to Play: The 2K Summer Sale is Officially Live on Steam - 25 June 2026

  The 2K Summer Sale is officially live on Steam, and it’s the perfect excuse to find your next great escape. Summer is about having the time to truly immerse yourself, dive deep into a world, and remember exactly why you fell in love with gaming in the first place.Whether you’re looking to reconnect with a classic masterpiece you haven't played in years, or finally take the plunge on that massive hit you've been eyeing, these savings are built for you. We’ve cut prices across our entire catalog, making it easier than ever to back your favorites and taking a chance on something new.Your wishlist is waiting, and your next unforgettable journey is just a click away. Grab these limited-time deals and make this a summer worth playing.*Digital only. Steam offers end July 9, 2026. Terms apply

• Firaxis Anniversary Sale - Join the 30th Anniversary Celebration - 30 April 2026

  Firaxis Anniversary Sale May 1st represents a historic milestone for Firaxis Games: 30 years of crafting world-class strategy experiences. To mark three decades of excellence and the debut of a bold new studio identity, a special anniversary sale is now live on Steam. This event is a tribute to the studio’s history, offering deep discounts on the iconic titles that have defined the genre for a generation. From Sid Meier’s Civilization VI to the XCOM Ultimate Collection, fans can get legendary titles at significant savings.As Firaxis enters its next chapter, there has never been a better time to revisit the catalog that made them a powerhouse in gaming. Explore the legacy, master the tactics, and own a piece of strategy history. Key titles included in the sale*: Civilization III Complete Edition - 80% Civilization IV Complete Edition - 80%Civilization V Complete Edition - 75%Civilization…

• Civilization 6 New Frontier Pass: Babylon Pack is out now, here's what's in it - 19 November 2020

  Hammurabi has arrived and he won't shut up about some 'code' he's developed. Actually, what's really arrived is the Civilization VI New Frontier Pass: Babylon Pack , bringing with it the famous law-giver, a brand new game mode, and a host of Great People to liven up your next game of Civ. We've learned quite a bit about how Hammurabi and the new Babylonian civilisation will work in the 4X game - it's a faction that's going to really shine in the early game, with a massive boost to science thanks to Enuma Anu Enlil, its unique ability that grants a full science bonus toward technology whenever you hit a eureka moment. Hammurabi himself has the ability to construct each special district's lowest-cost building for free the first time a district is built - all of this together means that Babylon stands to be well ahead of the technology game pretty early on. 2K has also shared additional de…

• Civilization's Sid Meier talked to RPS all about his brilliant career at PAX X EGX - 15 September 2020

  Sid Meier, that legendary game dev whose name sits before the names of Civilization games, had a lovely chat with our very own Nate Crowley this weekend, as part of PAX Online X EGX Digital. The pair talked all about some of the most notable parts of Meier’s career – including, Railroad Tycoon, Pirates!, and Civilization – as well as chat about his upcoming book, Sid Meier’s Memoir!: A Life In Computer Games. And thanks to computers, you can watch their whole chat in full below. (more…)

• How video games consistently fail Gandhi - 22 April 2020

  Gandhi is one of the most unique figure in history. His adherence to non-violence, his establishment of a full-fledged philosophy behind it and, above all, his success , are practically without precedent. Kings, empires and leaders can often blur into each other. The locations change, the dates are different and the numbers differ, but the essence remains the same. Gandhi was something completely different, and yet games try to represent him with the same pieces they use for everyone else – and so they always make him something far less than he was. (more…)

• The best strategy games on PC - 25 November 2019

  You’ll ocassionally find someone on the internet sounding off about how the strategy genre is dead. If you see such a person in the future, send them this list of the best strategy games ever made. (more…)

• Civilization 6 launches its dystopian battle royale mode Red Death - 10 September 2019

  In the words of 60s rock group The Byrds, to everything there is a season. A time of love, a time of hate. A time to dance, a time to mourn. For game developers, this past year has been one long summer of Battle Royale season. Which I guess sort of puts the song into a different perspective considering it less a season than one overwhelming and endless new era. Perhaps fad genres are more like seasons in Game of Thrones, which continue on across generations or until the sweet relief of death. Anyway, Civilization 6 developers Firaxis have launched a new battle royale mode today called Red Death, and it’s free to anyone who already owns the base game. (more…)

• Full choral performance of Civilization 4 theme wows on America's Got Talent - 28 July 2018

  Roughly 145 singers from a California choir group called the Angel City Chorale performed "Baba Yetu," the main theme of Civilization 4, on a recent episode of America's Got Talent. The group's rendition was wonderful, and proved popular with the judges: it earned a golden buzzer from actress Olivia Munn, guaranteeing the group a spot in the next round of the competition.  Composed by Christopher Tin and originally performed by South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir, "Baba Yetu" was the first piece of video game music to win a Grammy award. It topped the category of Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists in 2011. For my money it's also one of Civilization's better themes, and I'd say the Angel City Chorale did it justice. You can compare it to the original version here:  Thanks, Eurogamer . 

• The 50 best strategy games on PC - 28 June 2018

  An entirely objective ranking of the 50 best PC strategy games ever made, now freshened up to include everything from 2017 and 2018. From intricate, global-scale wargames to the tight thrills of guerrilla squads, the broad expanse of the genre contains something for everyone, and we’ve gathered the best of the best. The vast majority are available to buy digitally, a few are free to download and play forever. They’re all brilliant. (more…)

• Soren Johnson on challenging the norms of 4X games - 6 April 2018

  Sid didn t know he was inventing a genre back in 91 – if he had he might have been a lot more careful. He was just making it up as he went along. That s how genres begin. By mistake. Somebody creates a set of rules and systems for the needs of a particular game, and then either people adopt and adapt those rules. Soren Johnson, creator of Offworld Trading Company and lead designer of Civilization IV, is working on a new game called Ten Crowns and after spending almost an hour talking with him at GDC, I get the impression he s going to be very careful indeed. Not cautious, because I expect some bold reinvention of 4X strategy fundamentals, but careful in his treatment of a genre that we both agree needs to escape its own past. (more…)

• Civilization 4 is free for Twitch Prime subscribers right now - 17 February 2018

  Civilization 4 marked the start of a new generation of Civ games. It was the first in the series with a 3D engine, the first built from the ground-up as a multiplayer game, and the first with accessible modding. As game designer Soren Johnson told Fraser in November , he wanted to "start from scratch and re-evaluate everything" about the series up to that point. It's still worth playing today, and Twitch Prime subscribers can now do just that for free for a limited time. All you have to do is head over to the game's Twitch page (or click the 'Prime Loot' icon next to your user name) to get your free copy—you'll need to download the Twitch desktop app to actually play it. You can do that here . It's the latest in a long line of games that subscribers to the service, which is included with Amazon Prime, have received for free. Devil May Cry was on offe…

• The complete history of Civilization - 20 November 2017

  This article was originally published in PC Gamer issue 311 . For more quality articles about all things PC gaming, you can subscribe now in the UK and the US .   Welcome to the history of Civilization, a series that has been keeping us up until silly o'clock in the morning  since the release of Sid Meier's original game in September 1991. Civ turns all of human history into a playground that you can exploit, turn by turn, to bring your chosen nation to glory. It's a fascinating series because it has been interpreted by a new lead designer in each iteration, including Alpha Centauri's Brian Reynolds, Mohawk Games' Soren Johnson, and of course Sid Meier himself. In the following pages we talk to all of them about how the series has evolved from Civilization through to Civilization VI. Civilization "We were young, and we had no fear"   In 1991, Micr…

• Take One More Turn in Civilization VI - 11 May 2016

  We’re excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Civilization franchise by announcing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, the next entry in the award-winning turn-based strategy franchise. Be sure to follow the Steam Community group here and add the game to your Steam wishlist! http://store.steampowered.com/app/289070 Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, set to launch on PC on October 21, 2016, offers new ways to interact with your world, expand your empire across the map, advance your culture and compete against history’s greatest leaders to build a civilization that will truly stand the test of time. Your story begins later this year! Sid Meier’s Civilization VI includes: EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain. ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unloc…

• Take One More Turn in Civilization VI - 11 May 2016

  We’re excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Civilization franchise by announcing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, the next entry in the award-winning turn-based strategy franchise. Be sure to follow the Steam Community group here and add the game to your Steam wishlist! http://store.steampowered.com/app/289070 Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, set to launch on PC on October 21, 2016, offers new ways to interact with your world, expand your empire across the map, advance your culture and compete against history’s greatest leaders to build a civilization that will truly stand the test of time. Your story begins later this year! Sid Meier’s Civilization VI includes: EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain. ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unloc…

• Civilization IV currently not working in OSX 10.10 [Resolved!] - 20 November 2014

  As many of you have noted here, Civ IV base game and Colonization are currently not working in 10.10 due to a python library issue. After a week of review, this bug is legitimate and we are now officially pulling support for Yosemite until we have a fix for the problem. Please accept our apology for any frustration this bug has caused. We are working on a solution, but because of the hectic holiday release schedule from Aspyr, we cant give an approximate date as to when that solution will be integrated into the game. There is a workaround (users have posted it in several spots). It works 100%, but we should advise strong caution when messing with your library files. Make sure you backup your rig with time machine before diving in. I should also note that some users are having success by making sure that Warlords and/or Beyond the Sword are installed on top of the base Civ IV game. Pleas…

• Civilization IV currently not working in OSX 10.10 [Resolved!] - 20 November 2014

  As many of you have noted here, Civ IV base game and Colonization are currently not working in 10.10 due to a python library issue. After a week of review, this bug is legitimate and we are now officially pulling support for Yosemite until we have a fix for the problem. Please accept our apology for any frustration this bug has caused. We are working on a solution, but because of the hectic holiday release schedule from Aspyr, we cant give an approximate date as to when that solution will be integrated into the game. There is a workaround (users have posted it in several spots). It works 100%, but we should advise strong caution when messing with your library files. Make sure you backup your rig with time machine before diving in. I should also note that some users are having success by making sure that Warlords and/or Beyond the Sword are installed on top of the base Civ IV game. Pleas…

• Civilization IV Steamworks update released - 5 June 2014

  The patch that replaces GameSpy with Steamworks for multiplayer functionality is now available via Steam. The game functions identically to the previous GameSpy version with the exception that the “Direct IP” option has been removed as it is no longer supported. Save game data should not be negatively affected. If you own a physical disc version of Civilization IV and are interested in receiving this multiplayer update, please submit a support request. http://support.2k.com/requests/new

• Civilization IV Steamworks update released - 5 June 2014

  The patch that replaces GameSpy with Steamworks for multiplayer functionality is now available via Steam. The game functions identically to the previous GameSpy version with the exception that the “Direct IP” option has been removed as it is no longer supported. Save game data should not be negatively affected. If you own a physical disc version of Civilization IV and are interested in receiving this multiplayer update, please submit a support request. http://support.2k.com/requests/new

• Borderlands, Civilization 3 & 4 will survive GameSpy shutdown - 22 April 2014

  With GameSpy's online services set to shut down on May 31, 2K Games has stepped forward and announced which of its online-enabled multiplayer games will survive the closure. Borderlands , Civilization III , and Civilization IV , and their respective expansions will all begin making the transition from GameSpy servers to Steamworks in the coming days, while several other games will see their multiplayer servers go down with the GameSpy ship.

Patch notes and updates