"Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick 'Thrilled' with Civilization 7 Despite High Play Rates of Civ 6 and 5 on Steam"

Civilization 7 has faced a challenging start on Steam, struggling to attract players since its debut in February. While Steam user reviews describe the reception as 'mixed,' developer Firaxis has released multiple patches in hopes of improving player sentiment. Despite these efforts, Civilization 7 currently boasts fewer players on Steam than both Civilization 6 and the 15-year-old Civilization 5, indicating a concerning trend for the series' flagship platform.

Although Steam metrics don’t tell the complete story—Civ 7 also launched on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch—the game's performance on PC is particularly disappointing. For a franchise where PC is traditionally dominant, this presents a significant setback.

Even so, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick expressed satisfaction with the game during an interview prior to the company's latest financial report. He acknowledged initial challenges but emphasized optimism regarding future improvements and success.

"The history of all the Civilization releases is that initially some of the changes we make cause consternation among our consumers because they love the Civilization franchise so much," Zelnick explained. "And then people realize, oh, this really is an improvement, and over a long sales cycle, we do really well. I think that's what'll happen here too."

He also noted that Firaxis continues to address ongoing issues, referencing the franchise's typical lengthy sales cycle as evidence of eventual growth.

At launch, players criticized Civ 7 for its user interface, limited map variety, and missing features expected from the series. Zelnick's comments align with concerns raised by dedicated Civ fans about major gameplay alterations, such as the introduction of a unified Age system across all three eras. Despite these changes, Zelnick remains confident that players will grow to appreciate the innovations over time.

Take-Two hasn't disclosed exact sales figures for Civilization 7, but the company highlighted plans to broaden its audience through recent VR releases for Meta Quest 3 and 3S, along with an upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 port featuring enhanced Joy-Con controls.