Guide: How To Unlock All Civs in Civilization 7

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Instead of choosing a single civilization to lead through history, Civilization 7 has you decide the fate of three civilizations across one playthrough. You begin in the usual way by picking a culture for the Antiquity Age from all those that are available.

Reaching the Exploration Age and Modern Age will prompt you to make choices again — but in these instances, you won't be able to select a civilization from the complete pool. Instead, you'll be a little more limited. Which civilizations you can pick for the Exploration Age and Modern Age depends on several factors. Two are easy to explain, as some unlocks are based on the leader you're currently playing or on the civilizations you played in previous Ages. However, all cultures come with at least one unlock option that can be achieved through gameplay, independent of all previous picks or your leader.

A metropolis of the Qing in Civilization 7. 2K Games

Although you can certainly go with the flow, on higher difficulty levels it will certainly pay off to get ahead of the game and so some pre-planning — and for that, you can find all civilization unlock conditions in Civilization 7 below.

Civilization 7: How To Unlock All Exploration Age Civilizations

There are plenty of cultures to unlock while you're playing the Antiquity Age.

Abbasids:

• Play as Ibn Battuta.
• Play as Persia.
• Play as Egypt.
• Improve three Camels.

Chola India:

• Play as Ashoka (World Renouncer) or Ashoka (World Conqueror).
• Play as Maurya India.
• Play as Khmer.
• Have three Settlements with City Centers adjacent to Coastal (Lakes to not count).

Hawai'i:

• Play as José Rizal.
• Play as Maya.
• Play as Mississippian.
• Have two Settlements on an Island (a landmass with a maximum of 15 tiles).

Inca:

• Play as Pachacuti.
• Play as Maya
• Play as Mississippian.
• Have three Settlements with at least three Mountains each.

Majapahit:

• Play as Trung Trac.
• Play as Maurya India.
• Play as Khmer.
• Have three Naval Trade Routes.

Ming China:

• Play as Confucius.
• Play as Han China.
• Improve three Silk.
• Have eight Resources slotted in one Settlement.

Mongolia:

• Play as Persia.
• Play as Han China.
• Improve three Horses.
• Have three Siege units.

Norman:

• Play as Charlemagne.
• Play as Greece.
• Play as Rome.
• Improve three Iron.
• Build five Walls.

Shawnee:

• Play as Tecumseh.
• Play as Mississippian.
• Improve three Hides.
• Be Suzerain of two City-States.

Songhai:

• Play as Amina.
• Play as Persia.
• Play as Egypt.
• Have three Settlements with at least three Navigable River tiles each.

Spain:

• Play as Isabella.
• Play as Greece.
• Play as Rome.
• Reconquer a lost Settlement.

Civilization 7: How To Unlock All Modern Age Civilizations

As your horizons expand in the Exploration Age, so do your possibilities of unlocking cultures.

America:

• Play as Benjamin Franklin.
• Play as Harriet Tubman.
• Play as Tecumseh.
• Play as Rome.
• Play as the Shawnee.
• Play as the Normans.
• Have three Distant Land Settlements in either Plains or Grasslands.

Buganda:

• Play as Amina.
• Play as the Abbasids.
• Play as Songhai.
• Have two settlements with their City Center adjacent to a lake.

French Empire:

• Play as Lafayette.
• Play as Napoleon (Emperor) or Napoleon (Revolutionary).
• Play as Rome.
• Play as the Normans.
• Improve three Wine.

Meiji Japan:

• Play as Himiko (Queen of Wa) or Himiko (High Shaman).
• Play as Hawai'i.
• Play as Majapahit.
• Improve three Tea.

Mexico:

• Play as Isabella.
• Play as Tecumseh.
• Play as Maya.
• Play as the Shawnee.
• Play as the Inca.
• Play as Spain.
• Have three Distant Land Settlements in Desert or Tropical.

Mughal India:

• Play as Persia.
• Play as Chola India.
• Play as the Abbasids.
• Improve three Salt.
• Have at least four Trade Routes with unique Civilizations.

Prussia:

• Play as Friedrich (Oblique) or Friedrich (Baroque).
• Play as Rome.
• Improve three Niter.
• Have three Army Commanders.

Qing China:

• Play as Han China.
• Play as Ming China.
• Play as Mongolia.
• Improve three Jade.

Russia:

• Play as Catherine.
• Play as Greece.
• Play as Mongolia.
• Have three Settlements on Tundra.

Siam:

• Play as Khmer.
• Play as Chola India.
• Improve three Ivory.
• Have four Temples.

For more insights on the game, read our interview with the Civilization 7 developers.