Civilization (series)

Civilization
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy, 4X
Developer(s)	MicroProse Activision Firaxis Games
Publisher(s)	MicroProse Activision Hasbro Interactive Infogrames 2K Games
Creator(s)	Sid Meier
Platform(s)	Amiga, Atari ST, SNES, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, N-Gage, Windows Phone, Facebook Platform, PlayStation Vita, Sega Saturn
First release	Civilization September 1991
Latest release	Civilization VI October 21, 2016

Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991.^[1] Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest,^[2] and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI. There are six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate".

All titles in the series share similar gameplay, centered on building a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future. Each turn allows the player to move their units on the map, build or improve new cities and units, and initiate negotiations with the human or computer-controlled players. The player will also choose technologies to research. These reflect the cultural, intellectual, and technical sophistication of the civilization, and usually allow the player to build new units or to improve their cities with new structures. In most games in the series, one may win by military conquest, achieving a certain level of culture, building an interstellar space ship, or achieving the highest score, among other means. Later games have introduced gameplay concepts and victories based on religion, economics, and diplomacy. Meier had adapted an approach for each new title so that it contains a third of existing features, another third that are improvements from the previous game, and the remaining third as introducing new features. Newer games often include extendable downloadable content that adds to that game, and often will become part of the new features in the next main game of the series.

The series was first developed by Meier while at MicroProse, the studio he co-founded. After MicroProse was acquired by Spectrum Holobyte, Meier left with other designers to form Firaxis Games in 1996, which has been the principal developer of the series since. Over the years, some of the crew involved in developing the series became successful in producing their own strategy games, such as Bruce Shelley (Civilization co-designer) of Age of Empires fame, Brian Reynolds (Civilization II lead designer and programmer), who went on to create Rise of Nations, and Soren Johnson (Civilization III co-designer and Civilization IV lead designer and programmer), who worked on Spore and Offworld Trading Company. Some issues associated with the Civilization name, due to the 1980 Civilization board game created by Francis Tresham, arose during the late 1990s but have been resolved through agreements, settlements, and publishing company acquisitions; presently Take-Two, the parent company of Firaxis, owns full rights to both the name and intellectual property for the series. According to 2K Games, Firaxis' owner, the series has shipped more than 70 million total by June 2024.^[3]