*This page last updated: 24 May, 2020 10:15 PST. (Log of recent changes)

Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION VI

On May 11, 2016 2K announced a new title in the Civilization series: Sid Meier's Civilization VI. It was released on October 21, 2016 for the PC. The lead designer was Ed Beach, who performed the same role for both the Gods & Kings and Brave New World expansions for Civilization V. The Art Director was Brian Busatti, who has worked on several Civilization iterations including Civilization Revolution, for which he was also Art Director. Anton Strenger was the Senior Gameplay Designer; he was previously Lead Systems & Gameplay Designer on Beyond Earth. Dennis Shirk returned as Lead Producer.

Features

Civilization VI is being completely re-built from the ground up using a new engine. Unlike most previous "vanilla" iterations of Civilization, Civ VI will include a number of features in the core game that previously required multiple expansions, including trade routes, religion, archaeology, espionage, city-states, tourism and Great Works. Though all features have been rebuilt for the new engine, most are based on the gameplay of Civilization V, with some notable changes and improvements.

"Everything that Civilization players have loved in Civilization V, we’re bringing forward, in addition to putting on the new gameplay from Civilization VI." - Dennis Shirk.

“The number one thing to know is that Civilization VI is not built on the previous engine. All of the gameplay systems have been entirely rewritten and re-architected. We’ve specifically set it up to be very modifiable. And we’ve rewritten the A.I. from the ground up, learning all the lessons that we had from Civilization V, so we know how best to solve some of these problems in military combat and so forth.” - Ed Beach

City Planning

Cities are now "unstacked" and sprawl across the entire city radius. A few buildings can be built within the city center, but the rest must be constructed in Districts which compete for space with Improvements and Wonders in tiles around the city. For details, see the Cities page.

Technology

Research works much as before, but each technology has a "Eureka" objective attached to it. This objective is a mini-quest (such as "Meet another Civilization" or "Build a Quarry") that, when completed, will award a research credit worth 50% (!) of the science needed to unlock that tech. You will get this research credit whether or not you are currently researching the technology in question. As with Civ V, there is no tech trading. For details, see the Technology page.

Civics

Civics now behave very much like a second technology tree, with each new civic gradually unlocked by accumulated Culture. Each Civic unlocks one or more items, including policies, district or building types, wonders, and government types. Each government type has a varying number of color-coded slots for policies, and you can mix and match which policies to place in which slot. For details, see the Civics page.

Religion

Religion operates similarly to the system in Civ V; Pantheons precede formal religions, which are founded by Great Prophets. You can still choose or customize a name and select from an increased number of symbols. You can choose from different beliefs with different attributes. And you can choose the type building where your faith is professed. That can be a church, mosque or synagogue, or a simpler Meeting House. Each building gives a different bonus. Each religion starts with 2 beliefs and can have up to 4 when upgraded. Pantheons are separate from religions, and you will keep your original pantheon belief even if your cities are eventually converted to someone else's religion.

Religions still spread by exerting pressure, and the Holy City (the founding place of each religion) exerts additional pressure. Great Prophets are used only for founding a religion, and are no longer available once a religion is founded. Missionaries can still be used to spread religion, and there is a new unit called Apostles that is used for either spreading religion or adding new beliefs. Inquisitors can be used to purge apostates.

There is a new Religious Victory that can be achieved by converting all of the other civilizations to your religion.

“Aside from custom cathedrals, meeting houses, etc. that you can put into your holy site now based on a belief, you can also have powers, For example, being able to purchase theater districts or commercial hubs with faith alone. You're going to have religious combat now, you're going to have inquisitions, you can have inquisitors, apostles, there's a whole different level if you want to play that aggressive religion-versus-religion game.” - Dennis Shirk

Pantheons

City Patron Goddess: +25% production towards the first district in this city
Earth Goddess: +1 Faith on tiles that are Charming or Breathtaking
Divine Spark
: +1 Great Person Point from Holy Site (Prophet), Campus (Scientist), and Theater Square (Writer) districts
Dance of the Aurora: Holy Site district get +1 Faith from adjacent Tundra tiles.
Desert Folklore: Holy Site districts get +1 Faith from adjacent Desert tiles.
Sacred Path: Holy Site district get +1 Faith from adjacent Rainforest tiles.
River Goddess: +1 Amenity to cities if they have a Holy Site district adjacent to a River.
Monument to the Gods: Construct Ancient and Classical Wonders 15% faster.
Lady of the Reeds and Marshes: +1 Production from Marsh, Oasis, and Floodplains.
God of the Sea: +1 Production from Fishing Boats.
God of the Open Sky: +1 Culture from Pastures.
Goddess of the Hunt: +1 Food from Camps.
Stone Circles: +2 Faith from Quarries.
Religious Idols: +1 Faith from Mines over Luxury and Bonus resources.
God of Craftsmen: +1 Production from mines over Strategic resources.
Goddess of Festivals: +1 Food from Wine, Incense, Cocoa, Tobacco, Coffee, and Tea Plantations.
Oral Tradition: +1 Culture from Banana, Citrus, Cotton, Dyes, Silk, Spices, and Sugar Plantations.
God of the Forge: +25% Production toward Ancient and Classical military units.
Initiation Rites: +50 Faith for each Barbarian Outpost cleared.
God of Healing: Increases healing by +30 in your Holy Site district, or any adjacent tiles.
God of War: Bonus faith for each enemy unit killed within 8 tiles of a Holy Site district you own equal to 50% of their strength.
Fertility Rites: City growth rate is 10% higher.
Religious Settlements: Border expansion rate is 15% higher.
Goddess of the Harvest: Harvesting a resource or removing a feature receives Faith equal to the other yield's quantity.

Founder Beliefs

Church Property: Gold +2 for each city following this Religion
Lay Ministry: Each Holy Site or Theater Square district in a city following this Religion provides +1 Faith or +1 Cult respectively
Papal Primacy: Type bonuses from City-States following your Religion 50% more powerful.
Pilgrimage: Faith +2 for every city following this Religion in other civilizations
Stewardship: Each Campus or Commercial Hub district in a city following this Religion provides +1 Science or +1 Gold respectively
Tithe: +1 Gold for every 4 followers of this Religion
World Church: Culture +1 for every 5 followers of this Religion in other civilizations
Defender of the Faith: Combat units gain +10 Combat Strength near friendly cities that follow this Religion
Holy Order: Missionaries and Apostles are 30% cheaper to Purchase
Itinerant Preachers: Religion spreads to cities 30% further away
Crusade: Combat units gain +10 Combat Strength near foreign cities that follow this Religion
Missionary Zeal: Religious units ignore movement costs of terrain and features
Monastic Isolation: Your Religion's pressure never drops due to losses in Theological Combat
Scripture: Religious spread from adjacent city pressure is 25% stronger. Boosted to 50% once Printing Press is researched
Cross-Cultural Dialogue: +1 Science for every 5 followers in foreign civs
Religious Unity: +1 envoy when converting a city-state for the first time

Follower Beliefs

Divine Inspiration: All world wonders provide +4 Faith.
Feed the World: Shrines and Temples provide Food equal to their intrinsic Faith output
Jesuit Education: May purchase Campus and Theater Square district buildings with Faith
Reliquaries:  Relics have triple yield of both Faith and Tourism
Religious Community: Shrines and Temples each provide +1 Housing
Work Ethic: +1 Production for each follower
Zen Meditation: +1 Amenity in cities with 2 specialty districts
Choral Music: Shrines and Temples produce Culture equal to their Faith output |
Warrior Monks: allows this city to buy Warrior Monks with Faith

Worship Beliefs

Cathedral: +4 Faith, 1 slot for religious art
Gurdwara: +3 Faith; +2 Food
Meeting House: +3 Faith; +2 Production
Mosque:  +3 Faith; Missionaries and Apostles +1 Spread Religion charge
Pagoda: +3 Faith; +1 Housing
Synagogue: +5 Faith
Wat: +3 Faith; +2 Science
Stupa: +3 Faith, +1 Amenity
Dar-e-Mehr: +3 Faith, +1 Faith for each era since constructed or last repaired.

Diplomacy

Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations.

There is no World Congress and no Diplomatic victory. It's one of the few features from Civ V BNW that's not in Civ VI.

Agendas

AI leaders now follow Agendas which help shape their behavior. Each leader has a fixed Historical Agenda (see Civilizations) and a randomly generated Hidden Agenda. Some examples of random hidden agendas:

  • Leader wants to have the biggest navy in the world.
  • Leader wants to concentrate on culture for this play-through.
  • Paranoid
  • Environmentalist

“We’ve changed the way leaders work in diplomacy. In previous versions, all of the leaders approached the game in basically the same way. Here you have very different key triggers, with A.I. that’s now driven by what we call leader agendas. A leader agenda is a specific historical way of approaching the world that we assign to each of the leaders based on what they were good at when they were ruling their empire. Each leader has a historical agenda that you’ll learn as you play the game repeatedly. But we also assign secret agendas to the leaders that you have to uncover through espionage. And so the diplomatic landscape is much richer. The more you mix all the different personalities into a big soup, the more you end up with a very interesting diplomatic landscape.” - Ed Beach

"A hidden agenda may be just 'fan of industry' or 'fan of culture,' some of those basic things. If you’re generating a lot of science they might admire you for it. It could be stuff as simple as you have more wonders than them, and they want the wonders. Stuff like that.” - Dennis Shirk

Agreements

Most agreements are unlocked with Civics.

  • Open Borders (Early Empire): "Ask this power to allow your units to travel through their controlled territory."
  • Research Agreement (Scientific Theory): "Establish a Research Agreement with a Declared Friend or Alliance member. Research Agreements allow two parties to jointly research a target technology. The more expensive the technology, the longer the agreement will take. At the duration of the agreement, each party earns the Boost for that technology."
  • Alliance (Civil Service): "Establish an Alliance with a Declared Friend. Allies may not go to war, automatically have Open Borders, and each receives a Casus Belli on an aggressor civilization of one of their allies loses a city."
  • Resident Embassies (Diplomatic Service): "Establish a permanent Embassy with this power. If accepted, the recipient will be a bit friendlier, you will gain one level to Access, and the recipient's Capital will be revealed."
  • Defensive Pact (Mobilization): "Establish a Defensive Pact. When either member of the Alliance is attacked, all members will automatically declare war with the aggressor."

Casus Belli

Civ VI uses a "casus belli" system; in other words, you will incur less of diplomatic penalty if you have cause to go to war. If you declare war without first Denouncing the target civilization, this will be considered a "surprise war" and will incur additional diplomatic penalties. There are six different “just” reasons for war that are covered by the Casus Belli system, which can reduce or eliminate the warmonger penalties for going to war.

“First of all you get NO warmonger diplomatic penalty at all for making war in the Ancient Era. The penalty phases in and starts to get significant around the Renaissance, but that’s when the new Casus Belli system comes fully into play.” - Ed Beach

Known Casus Belli, unlocked with Civics:

  • Joint War (Foreign Trade): Establish a Joint War against a target civilization.
  • Holy War (Diplomatic Service): Used to declare war on a power that has religiously converted one of your cities. All warmonger penalties halved.
  • Liberation War (Diplomatic Service): Used to declare war on a power that has captured a city from one of your friends or allies. No warmonger penalty for liberating any of those cities.
  • Reconquest War (Diplomatic Service): Used to declare war on a power that has captured one of your cities. No warmonger penalties apply.
  • Protectorate War (Diplomatic Service): Used to declare war on a power that has attacked one of your allied city-states. No warmonger penalty for liberating that city-state.
  • Colonial War (Nationalism): Used to declare war on a power that is two technology eras behind you. All warmonger penalties halved.
  • War of Territorial Expansion (Mobilization): Used to declare war on a power that borders your empire. Must have 2 of your cities within 10 tiles of 2 opponents' cities. Warmonger penalties reduced by 25%.

Gossip

Traders, delegations and spies can all collect gossip, similar to "intrigue" in Civ V, which may reveal clues about a rival civilization's activities and intentions (and Hidden Agendas).

"Eventually you'll be hearing gossip about everything he's doing as an AI routine in his civilization. You've got great relations, but that's not stopping you from spying on your allies to make sure you're getting all the information." - Dennis Shirk

Espionage

Spies are once again literal units in the field, though they cannot move freely (they are assigned to cities and move to various districts while performing their missions). Once deployed to a city, Spies can conduct counter-espionage, increase diplomatic visibility, steal technology boosts, steal gold, or sabotage districts. I think they can raise partisans under certain cirmstances, but I haven't seen this option. If a Spy is discovered, the player is given multiple options for escape (trading speed for success chance). If escape fails, the Spy may be killed or captured; in the latter case, a captured Spy may be traded for using the diplomatic interface. Spies gain promotions as they increase in level, in addition to becoming generally more proficient at higher levels.

Spies cannot directly steal technology, but instead steal a boost for a technology. Oddly, they appear to be able to steal boosts for technologies with the target civilization has not researched.

Delegations

Sending a delegation (which means spending 25 gold) can slightly boost relations to other civilizations and increase diplomatic visibility and provide gossip. After completing the Diplomatic Service civic, delegations are replaced by embassies which cost 50 gold.

Trade Routes

Civilization VI uses a Trade Route system similar to that introduced in Civilization V: Brave New World. Trader units can each create and sustain a trade route between two cities. Trade route yields will vary based on what districts each city has, and the duration of the route will vary depending on the distance between the two cities (with shorter routes ending sooner). Most trade routes benefit only the originating city.

One chief difference is that the Trader will create a road as it travels along its route.

Trading Posts appear to be automatically created in cities that you establish a Trade Route with, and these will add Gold to subsequent Trade Routes that pass through that city.

The number with the sword icon in the UI at right corresponds to the distance between the cities in question; the sword icon is reportedly an error (which has since been replaced by an arrow icon).

Victory Conditions

Although Ed has said that there are four victory conditions, there are five including the Score/Time victory:

  • Domination: To achieve a Domination victory, you must conquer the Capital of every other civilization.
  • Science: you must accomplish 3 major milestones:
    • Launch a satellite.
    • Land a human on the Moon.
    • Establish a Martian Colony.
  • Cultural: you must attract more Visiting Tourists to your civilization than any other civilization has Domestic Tourists at home.
  • Religious: Your Religion must become predominant (followed by >50% cities) in every major and minor civilization.
  • Score: If no civilization has achieved another victory at 500 turns, the civilization with the overall highest score wins.

Ed Beach has said that there is no World Congress in Civ VI, and it appears that there is no Diplomatic victory.

User Interface

The game is in an early state, but it has been confirmed that Civ VI will have the much-asked-for 2D hexmap Strategic View, as well as map data overlays called Lenses. Currently available Lenses are: Continent, Appeal, Settler, Government, and Political.


Strategic View

The top bar includes displays for science, culture, faith, currency, trade routes, counters for all resources (not just strategic ones), a turn counters, real-time clock, Civilopedia and options. The second row of buttons on the left appear to be: research, civics, government, religion, great people, and great works. On the right side, the four smaller icons appear to be, from left: diplomacy, city-states, espionage, and trade. In the center-right is a list of leader icons: the player's own leader has an embellished border, the faction whose turn it currently is appears lowered slightly, and the icons include indicators for current relationship (war and peace for Cleopatra and Teddy, respectively).

The minimap (below left) includes controls for map data overlays called Lenses, toggles for map options (Show Grid, Show Resource Icons, Show Yield Icons), a "map pin" feature that lets you place markers on the map, and the hex-based Strategic View similar to that available in Civilization V. The multifunction display (below right) includes action buttons for the currently selected item, such as unit information, city information, combat previews, etc.

Day-Night Cycle

The engine has the capability to display a day-night cycle, complete with shifting shadows and lights on buildings. This is configurable, and can be set to a certain time of day, or allowed to cycle through times of day as turns pass.

Fancy Fog

Unexplored territory and fog of war (tiles not directly in the view of your units or cities) now appear with a special renderer that makes them look like a parchment map.

Map Rotation

There is a feature (demonstrated at Gamescom) that allows free rotation of the map.

Civilizations

Civ VI will ship with 18 civilizations (plus the Aztecs as a pre-order bonus). Each civilization has five unique elements: a fixed historical Agenda (as well as a second randomly-generated hidden agenda), a special ability, a unique unit, a leader bonus (which can be an ability or another unique unit), and a unique infrastructure item (which can be a building, improvement, or district). Civilizations also have regional graphic customizations for some units and buildings. City names (after the capital) are now selected randomly rather than sequentially from the list.

"Some civilizations have only one choice for a leader, while others have multiple leaders from which to choose. Like civilizations, each leader has a unique trait. These traits are different from civilization traits and are specific to each leader, even leaders from within the same civilization. Every leader also has an agenda based on their historical persona, as well as a hidden, random agenda." - Civilopedia

Civilization Icon Leader Historical Agenda Unique Unit Unique Infrastructure Leader Bonus Special Ability
America Teddy Roosevelt Big Stick P-51 Mustang Film Studio building Roosevelt Corollary (Rough Riders) Founding Fathers
Arabia Saladin Ayyubid Dynasty Mamluk Madrasa building Righteousness of the Faith The Last Prophet
Aztecs¹ Montezuma Tlatoani Eagle Warrior Tlachtli building Gifts for the Tlatoani Legend of the Five Suns
Brazil Pedro II Patron of the Arts Minas Geraes Street Carnival district Magnanimous Amazon
China Qin Shi Huang Wall of 10,000 Li Crouching Tiger Cannon Great Wall improvement The First Emperor Dynastic Cycle
Egypt Cleopatra Queen of the Nile Maryanu Chariot Archer Sphinx improvement Mediterranean's Bride Iteru
England

Victoria /
Eleanor of Aquitaine4
Sun Never Sets /
Angevin Empire
Sea Dog Royal Navy Dockyard district Pax Britannica (Redcoat) /
Court of Love
British Museum
France

Catherine de Medici /
Eleanor of Aquitaine4
Black Queen /
Angevin Empire
Garde Impériale Château improvement Catherine's Flying Squadron /
Court of Love
Grand Tour
Germany Fredrick Barbarossa Iron Crown U-Boat Hansa district Holy Roman Emperor Free Imperial Cities
Greece

Pericles /
Gorgo*
Delian League / With Your Shield or On It Hoplite Acropolis district Surrounded by Glory / Thermopylae Plato's Republic
India Gandhi /

Chandragupta Maurya³

Peacekeeper /

Maurya Empire

Varu Stepwell improvement Satyagraha /
Arthashastra
Dharma
Japan Hojo Tokimune Bushido Samurai Electronics Factory building Divine Wind Meiji Restoration
Kongo Mvemba a Nzinga Enthusiastic Disciple Ngao Mbeba Mbanza district Religious Convert Nkisi
Norway Harald Hardrada Last Viking King Berserker Stave Church building Thunderbolt of the North (Viking Longship) Knarr
Rome Trajan Optimus Princeps Legion Bath district Trajan's Column All Roads Lead to Rome
Russia Peter the Great Westernizer Cossack Lavra district Grand Embassy Mother Russia
Scythia Tomyris Backstab Averse Saka Horse Archer Kurgan improvement Killer of Cyrus People of the Steppe
Spain Philip II Counter Reformer Conquistador Mission improvement El Escorial Treasure Fleets
Sumeria Gilgamesh Ally of Enkidu War-Cart Ziggurat improvement Adventures with Enkidu Epic Quest
Poland² Jadwiga Saint Winged Hussar Sukiennice building Lithuanian Union Golden Liberty
Australia² John Curtin Always On Guard Digger Outback Station improvement Citadel of Civilization Land Down Under
Macedon² Alexander Short Life of Glory Hypaspist Basilikoi Paides building To the World's End (Hetairoi) Hellenistic Fusion
Persia² Cyrus II Opportunist Immortals Pairidaeza improvement Fall of Babylon Satrapia
Nubia² Amanitore City Planner Pítati Archer Nubian Pyramid improvement Ta-Seti Kandake of Meroë
Khmer² Jayarvarman VII An End to Suffering Domrey Prasat building Monasteries of the King Grand Barays
Indonesia² Gitarja Archipelagic State Jong Kampung improvement Exalted Goddess of the Three Worlds Great Nusantara
Cree³ Poundmaker Iron Confederacy Okihtcitaw Mekewap improvement Favorable Terms Nihithaw
Georgia³ Tamar Narikala Fortress Khevsureti Tsikhe building Glory of the World, Kingdom and Faith Strength in Unity
Korea³ Seondeok Cheomseongdae Hwacha Seowon district Hwarang Three Kingdoms
Mapuche³ Lautaro Spirit of Tucapel Malón Raider Chemamull improvement Swift Hawk Toqui
Mongols³ Genghis Khan Horse Lord Keshig Ordu building Mongol Horde Örtoo
Netherlands³ Wilhelmina Billionaire De Zeven Provinciën Polder improvement Radio Oranje Grote Rivieren
Scotland³ Robert the Bruce Flower of Scotland Highlander Golf Course improvement Bannockburn Scottish Enlightenment
Zulu³ Shaka Horns, Chest, Loins Impi Ikanda district Amabutho Isibongo
Hungary4 Matthias Corvinus Raven Banner Huszár Thermal Bath building The Raven King (Black Army) Pearl of the Danube
Maori4 Kupe Kaitiakitanga Toa/ Marae building Kupe's Voyage Mana
Canada4 Wilfrid Laurier Canadian Expeditionary Force Mountie Ice Hockey Rink improvement The Last Best West Four Faces of Peace
Inca4 Pachacuti Sapa Inca Warak'aq Terrace Farm improvement Qhapaq Ñan (improvement) Mit'a
Mali4 Mansa Musa Lord of the Mines Mandekalu Cavalry Suguba district Sahel Merchants Songs of the Jeli
Sweden4 Kristina Patron of the Arts Carolean Open-Air Museum improvement Minerva of the North (Queen's Biblotheque building) Nobel Prize
Ottomans4 Suleiman Lawgiver Barbary Corsair Grand Bazaar building Grand Vizier (Ibrahim, Janissary) Great Turkish Bombard
Phoenicia4 Dido Sicilian Wars Bireme Cothon district Founder of Carthage Mediterranean Colonies


¹The Aztecs are part of the pre-order bonus pack, and it seems that they don't count towards the 18 shipping civilizations.
²Available with Digital Deluxe Edition or separate DLC purchase only.
*Greece has two leader options. Greece under Gorgo has a different color scheme, Leader Bonus, and Historical Agenda.
³Available with the Rise & Fall expansion only.
4Available with the Gathering Storm expansion only.

In the Development Team video, there was posted in the background a group of portraits of leaders, which has turned out to be quite accurate. Here is a breakdown. (Thanks to the CivFanatics crew for their help with Leader Portrait Bingo.)

Special Abilities

  • Founding Fathers (America): Earn all government legacy bonuses in half the usual time.
  • The Last Prophet (Arabia): Arabia will automatically receive the last available Great Prophet if it has not already founded a religion.
  • Legend of the Five Suns (Aztecs): Spend Builder charges to complete 20% of the original district cost.
  • Amazon (Brazil): Rainforest tiles provide +1 adjacency bonus for Campus, Commercial Hub, Holy Site, and Theater Square districts. Rainforest tiles provide +1 Housing for Neighborhoods built adjacent to them.
  • Dynastic Cycle (China): Eurekas and Inspirations provide 60% of civics and technologies instead of 50%.
  • Iteru (Egypt): Districts and Wonders are built 15% faster if placed adjacent to a river. Floodplains do not block placement of districts and wonders.
  • British Museum (England): Each Archaeology Museum holds 6 Artifacts instead of 3 and can support 2 Archaeologists at once.
  • Grand Tour (France): +20% Production toward Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial era wonders. Tourism from wonders of any era is doubled.
  • Free Imperial Cities (Germany): Can build one more District than the population limit would normally allow.
  • Plato's Republic (Greece): Receive an extra Wildcard policy slot no matter which government is chosen.
  • Dharma (India): Receive the benefits of all Follower beliefs of Religions present in your cities, not just the one you founded.
  • Meiji Restoration (Japan): All districts receive an additional standard adjacency bonus for being adjacent to another district.
  • Nkisi (Kongo): Bonus Food, Production and Gold from each Relic, Artifact, and Great Work of Sculpture. Bonus Great Artist and Great Merchant points each turn.
  • Knarr (Norway): Units gain the ability to enter Ocean tiles after researching Shipbuilding. Units ignore additional Movement costs from embarking and disembarking.
  • All Roads Lead to Rome (Rome): All cities start with a Trading Post, and Trade Routes passing through them earn additional gold. New cities within Trade Route range of the capital start with a road to it.
  • Mother Russia (Russia): Cities gain extra tiles when founded. +1 Faith and +1 Production in Tundra tiles.
  • People of the Steppes (Scythia): Receive a second light cavalry or Saka Horse Archer unit each time you train a light cavalry or Saka Horse Archer.
  • Treasure Fleets (Spain): Trade Routes between continents give additional yields; can combine ships into fleets.
  • Epic Quest (Sumeria): Clearing a barbarian camp also grants a tribal village reward.
  • Golden Liberty (Poland): Culture bomb adjacent tiles when completing an Encampment or Fort inside friendly territory. One military policy slot in the current government is converted to a Wildcard slot.
  • Land Down Under (Australia): +3 Housing in coastal cities. Pastures trigger a culture bomb. Yields from Campuses, Holy Sites, Commercial Hubs and Theater Squares are +1 in tiles with Charming Appeal, +3 in Breathtaking.
  • Satrapia (Persia): +1 Trade Route with Political Philosophy, and bonuses to internal Trade Routes.
  • Hellenistic Fusion (Macedon): Receive boost from city conquest: a Eureka for each Encampment or Campus in the conquered city and an Inspiration for each Holy Site or Theater Square.
  • Ta-Seti (Nubia): +50% Production towards Ranged units. All Ranged units gain +50% combat experience. Mines over strategic resources provide +1 Production. Mines over bonus and luxury resources provide +2 Gold.
  • Great Nusantara (Indonesia): Coast and Lake tiles provide a minor adjacency bonus for Holy Site, Campus, Industrial Zone and Theater Square districts. +1 Amenity from entertainment to each Entertainment Complex adjacent to a Coast or Lake tile.
  • Grand Barays (Kmer): +3 Faith and +1 Amenity from entertainment to each city with an Aqueduct. +2 Food if adjacent to an Aqueduct.

Leader Bonuses

  • Roosevelt Corollary (Teddy Roosevelt): Units receive a +5 Combat Strength bonus on their home continent. +1 Appeal to all tiles in a city with a National Park. Gain the Rough Rider unique unit when they research the Rifling technology.
  • Righteousness of the Faith (Saladin): The worship building for Arabia's chosen religion costs less, and produces bonus Science, Faith, and Culture.
  • Gifts for the Tlatoani (Montezuma): Luxury resources in his territory provide an Amenity to 2 extra cities. Military units receive +1 Combat Strength for each different Luxury resource improved in Aztec lands.
  • Magnanimous (Pedro II): After recruiting or patronizing a Great Person, 20% of its Great Person point cost is refunded.
  • The First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang): When building Ancient and Classical wonders you may spend Builder charges to complete 15% of the original wonder cost. Builders receive an additional charge.
  • Mediterranean's Bride (Cleopatra): Your Trade Routes to other civilizations provide +4 Gold for Egypt. Other civilizations' Trade Routes to Egypt provide +2 Food for them and +2 Gold for Egypt.
  • Pax Britannica (Victoria): When you settle on a continent other than your home continent, receive a free melee unit. Gain the Redcoat unique unit when you research the Military Science technology.
  • Catherine's Flying Squadron (Catherine de Medici): Has 1 level of Diplomatic Visibility greater than normal with every civilization she's met. Receives capacity to build an extra Spy with the Castles technology.
  • Satyagraha (Gandhi): Receive a Faith boost for each civilization you have met that has founded a religion and with whom you are not at war. Other civilizations suffer additional happiness penalties for warring against Gandhi.
  • Holy Roman Emperor (Fredrick Barbarossa): Additional Military policy slot, +7 Combat Strength when attacking city-states.
  • Surrounded by Glory (Pericles): Bonus Culture for every City-State to which Greece is the Suzerain.
  • Themopylae (Gorgo): When Greek units are victorious in combat, receive Culture equal to 50% of the defeated unit's base strength.
  • Divine Wind (Hojo Tokimune): Land units receive +5 Combat Strength in land tiles adjacent to Coast; naval units receive +5 Combat Strength in shallow water tiles. Builds Encampment, Holy Site and Theater Square districts in half the time.
  • Religious Convert (Mvemba a Nzinga): Kongolese cities can't build Holy Sites, but they do receive the benefits of the Founder Beliefs of any religion that has established itself as the majority religion in that city. Receives a free Apostle whenever an Mbanza or Theater District is built.
  • Thunderbolt of the North (Harald Hardrada): Norwegian naval melee units can perform coastal raids.
  • Trajan's Column (Trajan): New cities start with a free building, usually a Monument.
  • Grand Embassy (Peter the Great): Gives science and culture from trade routes to the civilizations more advanced than Russia (+1 science for every three technologies that are not open in Russia; +1 culture point for every three social institutions that are not open in Russia).
  • Killer of Cyrus (Tomyris): All units receive +5 Combat Strength when attacking wounded units. When they eliminate a unit, they heal up to 50 hit points.
  • El Escorial (Philip II): Combat bonus vs. units of factions following other religions; Inquisitors have 1 extra Remove Heresy charge.
  • Adventures with Enkidu (Gilgamesh): When fighting a Join War, Sumerian units share pillage rewards and combat experience with the nearest allied unit within 5 tiles.
  • Lithuanian Union (Jadwiga): The religion founded by Poland becomes the majority in an adjacent that loses a tile to a Polish culture bomb. Holy Sites gain standard Faith adjacency bonus from adjacent districts. All Relics provide bonus Faith (+2), Culture (+2), and Gold (+4).
  • Citadel of Civilization (John Curtin): +100% Production if either they have received a declaration of war in the past 10 turns or if they have liberated a city in the past 20 turns.
  • To the World's End (Alexander): Macedon incurs no war weariness, and gains the Hetairoi cavalry unit.
  • Fall of Babylon (Cyrus): After declaring a surprise war, all Persian units gain bonus movement. Cyrus also incurs reduced diplomatic penalties for declaring surprise wars.
  • Kandake of Meroë (Amanitore): +20% Production towards all districts, rising to +40% if there is a Nubian Pyramid adjacted to the City Center.
  • Exalted Goddess of the Three Worlds (Gitarja): Naval units can be purchased with Faith. Religious units pay no movement to embark or disembark. +2 Faith to City Centers that are adjacent to Coast or Lake tiles.
  • Monasteries of the King (Jayarvarman VII): Holy Sites provide +2 Food and +1 Housing if placed on a river. Holy Sites trigger a Culture Bomb.

Historical Agendas

  • Big Stick (Teddy Roosevelt): Likes peaceful civilizations that have a city on his home continent. Hates civilizations starting wars against a city-state or civilization based on his continent.
  • Ayyubid Dynasty (Saladin): Wants to have his Worship building in many cities, and likes a civilization with it. Dislikes civilizations following other Religions, or civilizations waging war on followers of his Religion.
  • Tlatoani (Montezuma): Likes civilizations who have the same Luxury resources as he does, and will try to collect every Luxury resource available. Dislikes civilizations who have a new Luxury resource he has not yet collected.
  • Patron of the Arts (Pedro II): Likes civilizations who are not competing for Great People, and will recruit Great People whenever possible. Dislikes losing a Great Person to another civilization.
  • Wall of 10,000 Li (Qin Shi Huang): Dislikes anyone who builds more Wonders than him.
  • Queen of the Nile (Cleopatra): Cleopatra will respect someone with a strong military, but despise someone without one.
  • Sun Never Sets (Victoria): Victoria wants to settle on every continent, and will dislike civilizations on other continents.
  • Black Queen (Catherine de Medici): Gains as many Spies and as much diplomatic access as possible. Does not like civilizations who ignore these espionage activities.
  • Iron Crown (Frederick Barbarossa): Likes civilizations who do not associate with city-states. Does not like Suzerains of city-states, or civilizations who conquered city-states.
  • Delian League (Pericles): Likes civilizations that aren't competing for the same city-state allegiance. Dislikes civilizations that are completing for the same city-state allegiance.
  • With Your Shield or On It (Gorgo): Never gives up items in a peace deal. Likes civilizations who haven't yielded in a peace deal and dislikes civilizations who have surrendered in a peace deal or who have never been at war.
  • Peacekeeper (Gandhi): Never declares wars for which he can be branded a warmonger, and will try to befriend those who maintain the peace. Hates warmongers.
  • Bushido (Hojo Tokimune): Likes civilizations with a strong military, but only if they are also strong in Faith or Culture.
  • Enthusiastic Disciple (Mvemba a Nzinga): Likes civilizations that bring Religion to the Kongo. Dislikes civilizations that have founded a religion but not brought it to a Kongolese city.
  • Last Viking King (Harald Hardrada): Builds a strong navy and respects civilization who follow his lead. Does not like civilizations with a weak navy.
  • Optimus Princeps (Trajan): Tries to include as much territory as possible in his empire. Does not like civilizations who control little territory.
  • Westernizer (Peter): Friendly to those civilizations that are ahead of him in Science and Culture. Dislikes backwards civilizations that are lacking in Science and Culture.
  • Backstab Averse (Tomyris): Likes civilizations who are her declared friend. Hates civilizations who backstab and declare surprise wars.
  • Counter Reformer (Philip II): Likes civilizations who follow the same Religion, and wants his cities to all follow the same Religion. Hates anyone trying to spread their Religion into his empire.
  • Ally of Enkidu (Gilgamesh): Likes civilizations who are willing to form a long-term alliance. Dislikes anyone denouncing or attacking his friends and allies.
  • Saint (Jadwiga): Tries to build up Faith, and likes civilizations that also focus on Faith.
  • Perpetually On Guard (John Curtin): Forms Defensive Pacts with friends and likes civilizations that liberate cities. Dislikes civilizations in a war that are occupying enemy cities.
  • Short Life of Glory (Alexander): Likes civilizations at war with major powers other than Macedon. Has disdain for civilizations at peace.
  • Opportunist (Cyrus): Likes leaders who have declared a Surprise War. Dismisses leaders who do not use Surprise War declarations.
  • City Planner (Amanitore): Always tries to keep the maximum number of districts in each city. Respects other civilizations who also develop their cities in this fashion.
  • Archipelagic State (Gitarja): Likes civilizations who avoid conquering or settling on small landmasses. Hates anyone with numerous cities on such islands.
  • An End to Suffering (Jayarvarman VII): Likes civilizations with many Holy Sites and with a high average city Population. Dislikes civs lacking in either of these areas.

Barbarians

Barbarian outposts look very similar to those in Civ V, but they periodically send out scouts, which, if they spot your cities and are allowed to return to camp, will trigger a raiding party. The type of units that compose the raiding parties will depend on the surroundings of the camp: barbarians on the coast will build naval raiders, and camps near Horse resources will build Horse Archers and other mounted units.

“Barbarians can generate scouts now. You may have seen some of those around. If you leave a camp around long enough, it generates a scout. The scout explores the map just like you do. But what it’s looking for is targets. If a scout comes up to the outskirts of your city, that means he knows you’re there, and he’s going back to his camp to tell his buddies that they have a target. It’s important to watch that. You can know, ‘OK, if the scout came from four turns away, it’ll take him four turns to go home and five or six more to build an army.’ But eventually, 10 or 15 turns down the line, that scout reporting back is going to be bad news for you. You can prepare for that, though. You can see the scout and have some fast forces block him from getting home. He’s not that strong. It’s more strategic. They’re not just randomly wandering guys like the barbarians of the past. They’re a bit more intelligent. When they come back, they come back with a collection of both ranged and melee units. They can give you a hard time.” - Ed Beach

City-States

Civilizations still gain Influence with City-States, but a civilization's relationship with a City-State is now determined by the number of Envoys that the civilization has allocated to that City-State. Envoys are earned over time with Influence (which in turn can be increased through certain government and social policy types), and can also be earned through City-State quests or other special effects. City-States grant bonus yields (based on type) to civilizations that have sent Envoys; more Envoys earn more bonuses from the City-State (see table below). A civilization that has sent at least 3 Envoys can become "Suzerain" for that City-State, and earn a special bonus unique to that City-State. If more than one civilization has sent 3 Envoys, then whichever has the most becomes Suzerain. There can be only one Suzerain for a given City-State at a time. City-states follow their Suzerain into war and peace with other players. The Suzerain receives all resources the city-state owns, and may also pay Gold to temporarily take control of the city-state's units.

City-States are of six types: Religious, Trade, Scientific, Militaristic, Cultural and Industrial. There appear to be four of each type. Each city-state has a unique icon and Suzerain bonus.

City-State Types and Suzerain Bonuses

City-State Icon Type Unique Suzerain Bonus
Amsterdam* Trade Your Trade Routes to foreign cities earn +1 Gold for each Luxury Resource at the destination.
Antananarivo Cultural Your Civilization gains +2% Culture for each Great Person it has ever earned.
Armagh Religious Your Builders can construct the Monastery improvement.
Auckland Industrial Shallow water tiles you own provide +1 Production. Additional +1 when you reach the Industrial era.
Bandar Brunei Trade Your Trading Posts in foreign cities provide +1 Gold to your Trade Routes passing through or going to the city.
Brussels Industrial Your cities receive +15% Production bonus towards wonders.
Buenos Aires Industrial Your Bonus resources behave like Luxury resources, providing 1 Amenity per type.
Carthage* Militaristic Your Encampment districts provide +1 Trade Route capacity each.
Geneva Scientific Your cities earn +15% Science when not at war with any civilization.
Granada Militaristic Your Builders can construct the Alcázar improvement.
Hattusa** Scientific Provides you with 2 of each Strategic resource you have revealed but do not own.
Hong Kong Industrial Your cities get +20% Production towards city projects.
Jerusalem** Religious Your cities with Holy Sites exert pressure as if they were Holy Cities (4x Religion pressure in all cities within 10 tiles).
Kabul Militaristic Your units receive double experience from battles they initiate.
Kandy Religious Receive a Relic every time you discover a new National Wonder, and earn +50% Faith from all Relics.
Kumasi Cultural Your Trade Routes to any city-state provide +2 Culture and +1 Gold for every specialty district in the origin city.
La Venta Religious Your Builders can now make Colossal Head improvements.
Lisbon Trade Your Trader units are immune to being plundered on water tiles.
Mohenjo-Daro Cultural Your cities have full Housing from water, as if they were all next to a River.
Muscat Trade +1 Amenity in cities with a Commercial Hub district.
Nan Madol Cultural Your districts on or next to Coast tiles provide +2 Culture.
Palenque* Scientific City growth rate is 15% higher in cities with a Campus district.
Preslav** Militaristic You receive +2 Loyalty per turn in cities for each Encampment district building.
Toronto* Industrial Regional effects from your Industrial Zone and Entertainment Complex districts reach 3 tiles farther.
Seoul* Scientific When you enter a new era, earn a random Eureka from that era.
Stockholm* Scientific Your districts provide +1 Great Person point of their type (Great Writer, Great Artist, and Great Musician for Theater Square districts).
Valletta Militaristic City Center buildings and Encampment district buildings can be bought with Faith. Cost of purchasing Ancient Medieval, and Renaissance Walls is reduced, but they can only be bought with Faith.
Vilnius** Cultural For the highest active Alliance level, all your Theater Square districts receive +50% adjacency bonus.
Yerevan Religious Your Apostle units can choose from any possible promotions instead of receiving a random promotion.
Zanzibar Trade Receive the Cinnamon and Cloves luxury resources. They cannot be earned any other way in the game, and provide 6 Amenities each.

*Removed or replaced by a new city-state in a subsequent expansion
**Suzerain bonus changed in a subsequent patch or expansion (current bonus is listed)

City-State Types and Envoy Rewards

Type Color 1 Envoy 3 Envoys 6 Envoys
Trade Yellow +4 Gold in Capital +4 Gold in every Commercial Hub district Additional +4 Gold in every Commercial Hub district
Religious White +2 Faith in Capital +2 Faith in every Holy Site district Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district
Scientific Blue +2 Science in Capital +2 Science in every Campus district Additional +2 Science in every Campus district
Cultural Purple +2 Culture in the Capital +2 Culture in every Theater Square district Additional +2 Culture in every Theater Square district
Industrial Brown +2 Production in the Capital when producing wonders, buildings, and districts +2 Production in every Industrial Zone district when producing wonders, buildings, and districts Additional +2 Production in every Industrial Zone district when producing wonders, buildings and districts
Militaristic Red +2 Production in the Capital when producing units. +2 Production in every Encampment district when producing units. Additional +2 Production in every Encampment district when producing units.

 

Units

Civilization VI still uses a "1 Unit Per Tile" system as in Civilization V. There is now a limited ability to link military and support units, and to combine multiple units of the same type into 2- and 3-unit groups in the mid to late game.

Terrain

Civilization VI still utilizes the now-familiar hexagon tile terrain system with resources and improvements.

DLC

The pre-order bonus for Civilization VI is the Aztec Civilization Pack, which includes the Aztecs and the Huey Teocalli wonder. It will be available at release for pre-orders, and after 90 days for all other players at no additional cost.

Preview Links

5/11 2K Official Site
5/11 Take 2 Civilization VI press release
5/11 Civilization VI Official Announcement Trailer (YouTube)
5/11 Rock Paper Shotgun: Civilization VI Details
5/11 PCGamer: Civilization 6: everything you need to know
5/11 Polygon: Civilization 6 release date preview
5/11 IGN: Three ways Civilization 6 radically reinvents itself: city-building, science and diplomacy
5/11 Venture Beat: Civilization VI debuts this fall with a new take on cities
5/11 TIME: 6 Reasons Civilization 6 sounds totally different from past games
5/11 The Verge: Civilization VI is launching in October
5/11 Mashable: How Civilization VI aims to improve upon perfection
5/13 IGN: How Firaxis will redefine Civilization's art style in Civ VI
5/25 Civilization.com: Theodore Roosevelt Leads the Americans
5/25 Polygon: Civilization 6 Gameplay first look (YouTube)
5/25 quill18's Gameplay Footage Breakdown (YouTube)
5/25 IGN: Civilization 6's New Game-changer features
5/25 GameRevolution: Civilization VI preview
5/25 Marbozir's Civilization 6 Gameplay Preview (YouTube)
5/25 Game Informer: Civilization 6 Making All the Right Moves
5/25 GameCrate: Hands-on: Civilization VI Adds Teddy Roosevelt, Ditches Workers, and Feels Great
5/25 PCGamer: 60 turns of Civilization 6
5/25 Rock Paper Shotgun: Hands On: Civilization VI Is Exciting, Complex & Aggressive
5/25 BA Start Gaming: Ed Beach interview (YouTube)
5/25 Polygon: Hands On With Civilization 6
5/25 Venture Beat: Hands-on: This is a very different game / Ed Beach interview
5/25 USGamer: Rebuilding an Empire
5/25 PCGamesN: Dennis Shirk interview / Everything you need to know
5/25 Gamestar.de: Hands-on preview (German)
5/25 Tweakers: Civilization VI Preview (Dutch)
5/25 Tom's Hardware: Hands on gamplay
5/25 Gameskult: Preview (German)
5/27 PCGames.de: Hands-on preview (German)
5/27 GadgetHelpLine: What's Changed?
6/02 Civilization.com: Envoys and City-States
6/14 Twitch E3 video and Ed Beach commentary (YouTube)
6/14 E3 video GameSpot version (YouTube)
6/15 E3 video IGN version 1080p (YouTube)
6/16 E3 Developer Q&A (YouTube)
6/20 First Look: Unstacking Cities (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Unstacking Cities
6/20 First Look: America (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Theodore Roosevelt Leads the Americans
6/23 Eurogamer interview with Ed Beach (YouTube)
6/23 E3 presentation with narration by Sean Bean (YouTube)
6/24 Firaxis Livestream: E3 video with commentary by Ed Beach and Anton Strenger (YouTube)
6/28 First Look: England (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Victoria Leads England
6/30 First Look: Builders (YouTube) / Civilization.com: The State of Automation
7/06 First Look: Egypt (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Cleopatra Leads Egypt
7/08 First Look: Japan (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Hojo Tokimune Leads Japan
7/12 First Look: The Development Team (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Meet the Developers
7/14 First Look: The Art of Civilization VI / Civilization.com: The Art of Civilization VI
7/17 First Look: China (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Qin Shi Huang Leads China
7/19 Millenium.org: Civilization 6 China
7/21 First Look: Aztecs (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Pre-order Civilization VI and Get Early Access to the Aztec Civilization Pack
7/21 Akihabara Blues: E3 interview with Ed Beach (YouTube)
7/26 First Look: France (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Catherine de Medici Leads France
7/26 Millenium.org: Civilization 6 France
8/02 First Look: Brazil (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Pedro II Leads Brazil
8/03 GameSpot: 150 Turns of Combat, Espionage, and Failed Diplomacy
8/03 quill18: Let's Play England (NYC Pre-Release Event) (YouTube) Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4
8/03 Eurogamer: Starting a new game in Civilization 6 (Hands-on Gameplay + Interview with Dennis Shirk) (YouTube)
8/03 Polygon: 52 Minutes of GAMEPLAY (YouTube)
8/03 PCGamesN: 150 turns as Japan (YouTube)
8/04 Civilization.com: Shape your world with Active Progression
8/09 First Look: Scythia (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Tomyris Leads Scythia
8/16 Civilization.com: Diplomacy Gets a Major Upgrade
8/17 First Look: Germany (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Frederick Barbarossa Leads Germany
8/17 IGN: Gamescom 2016 Live Developer Interview (IGN Video)
8/23 First Look: Spain (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Philip II Leads Spain
8/30 First Look: India (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Gandhi Leads India
9/03 First Look: Kongo (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Mvemba a Nzinga leads Kongo
9/07 First Look: Norway (YouTube) / Civilization.com: Harald Hardrada leads Norway
9/07 Firaxis Let's Play - Religion (YouTube)
9/14 Civilization.com: Pericles Leads Greece / First Look: Greece (YouTube)
9/21 Civilization.com: Trajan Leads Rome / First Look: Rome (YouTube)
9/22 Firaxis Let's Play: Combat and City Growth (YouTube)
9/26 Civilization.com: Gilgamesh Leads Sumeria / First Look: Sumeria (YouTube)
9/26 Civilization.com: Saladin Leads Arabia / First Look: Arabia (YouTube)
9/29 Marbozir: Tech Tree / Civics Tree / Natural Wonders / Greece Gameplay Episode 1 (YouTube)
9/29 IGN: Dropping the Bomb in Civilization 6
10/5 Civilization.com: Peter the Great Leads Russa / First Look: Russia (YouTube)
10/12 Civilization.com: Gorgo also Leaders Greece / First Look: Greece (Gorgo) (YouTube)
12/20 Civilization.com: Jadwiga leads Poland / First Look: Poland (YouTube)