Civilization 7 will let you hand the keys to the nukes to Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman, and guess what? America's just showed up

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Civilization 7 will finally let me fulfil a boyhood dream: deploying nuclear weapons against Benjamin Franklin. Firaxis has unveiled two more leaders you'll be able to play as in its upcoming history sim, guiding their nations across the millennia like some kind of dread, undying volksgeist.

The two new head honchos revealed for Civ 7 are Ben Franklin and Harriet Tubman, revealed during a recent showcase of the game's Modern Age. Also making a proper debut in that stream: America! That makes sense. As the history buffs out there might know: Ben Franklin and Harriet Tubman were both American, and America is actually a real country, not just a place they made up for films. As you might expect, a lot of the USA's abilities revolve around expanding and building up its gold reserves.

It's always kind of fun—and a little fraught—to see how Firaxis contorts actual historical figures into a set of mechanics that fit its games. Remember how Stalin got a 50% bonus to Wonder construction speed in Civ 4? Best not to question that too much. Anyway, paragon of the Enlightenment Benjamin Franklin is all about science. He gets increased science per age from various sources, and his attributes are "Diplomatic" and "Scientific." He also gets a relationship boost with leaders who share his government and a malus to ones who don't.

Harriet Tubman, as a hero of the Underground Railroad that led escaped slaves to freedom and a Union Army leader (the first woman, in fact, to lead a major military operation in the United States during the American Civil War), is more about espionage and soldiering. She gets increased influence towards Espionage Actions, her units ignore movement penalties on Vegetated tiles, and she gets a set amount of War Support when someone declares war on her. She's "Militaristic" and "Diplomatic," and gets a relationship boost with players for each formal war they've declared, but loses relationship points for every surprise war they've kicked off.

You don't have to play the Yankees to put these leaders to use, mind you. The way Civ 7 works, you'll be swapping your nation every time you enter a new age (America, for instance, only becomes playable in the Modern Age), but your leader is eternal. You can put Harriet Tubman in charge of Ancient Greece if you like, or station Benny Franklin at the head of a communist autarky. If you're cool.

You'll be able to do it all soon enough. Civilization 7 is officially our most wanted game of 2025, and unless I've badly misread the calendar, 2025 is alarmingly close.

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.