Civilization 7's imminent update will add one of history's most famous conquerors for free, in Firaxis' latest bid to coax you back to its controversial sequel

Alexander the Great looking insufferably smug as he poses with a shield and spear. — (Image credit: Firaxis)

Civilization 7's latest update arrives on Monday. Firaxis revealed the bulk of the update's additions earlier this month, including the "most-requested addition" of letting players guide a single Civ across the entirety of its campaign. But Firaxis kept one last surprise in reserve, having just revealed that the update will add military wunderkind Alexander the Great to the base game for free.

As you'd probably expect from one of the ancient world's most renowned generals, Alexander's playstyle is all about making war, receiving a natural +2 combat strength bonus for land military units. More specifically, though, Alexander's all about making a name for himself. Not only are towns that are converted into cities renamed after Alexander, but building a wonder in cities outside your capital also conveys a host of bonuses to his Civ.

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It's undoubtedly a significant patch, with Firaxis keenly pushing its "game-changing" qualities. Whether it will be enough to shift the game's stubbornly 'Mixed' rating on Steam remains to be seen, however. Civ 7's Steam reviews have been split right down the middle for months, and the complaints causing that split aren't limited to its controversial age transition system. They also relate to things like UX and underdeveloped secondary mechanics that all contributed to a sense that Civ 7 left the oven too early.

Yet while Civ 7 may be divisive, it has been a commercial success for Firaxis. 2K CEO Strauss Zelnick said that the game has been "a profitable enterprise", even if he conceded that they got the Age system "wrong".

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.