Civilization VII is headed to iPhone and iPad with “Arcade Edition”

Civilization VII is coming to the iPhone and iPad, Apple and publisher 2K announced today.

Formally titled Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition, it is developed by Behaviour Interactive with input from original developer Firaxis Games.

The game will be available as part of the Apple Arcade service, which offers ad-free games for Apple platforms for $7 per month. Neither announcement makes any mention of a non-Arcade version, so this appears to be exclusively part of the subscription.

That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise; full-priced premium games have struggled on the platform when not bundled in a subscription. For example, Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption came out both as a standalone title on the App Store and as part of Netflix’s subscription. The Netflix version surpassed a staggering 3.3 million downloads, while the $40 direct purchase managed just over 10,000.

The announcement calls this release “the authentic Civilization experience,” which you can probably take to mean that it doesn’t simplify the gameplay in any way. That said, there is some fine print you shouldn’t miss.

The App Store listing for the game says this release will not receive any of the DLC planned for other platforms. It also notes that “post-launch updates that apply to other platforms may be excluded or delayed.” Also, the supported players listed is “1,” suggesting it may not have multiplayer. (The desktop and console versions already lack hotseat multiplayer, but they support online play.)

Civilization VII launched to mixed reception in early 2025. We liked it when we reviewed it at Ars, despite some notable shortcomings in terms of polish and user interface, and it has a decent community of dedicated players. However, it makes enormous changes to the classic series’ formula, drawing ideas from competitors like Humankind. Many players feel it strayed too far, and there are still some frustrations with the user interface not showing enough information to players.

It has gotten a steady stream of updates since launch, though, and 2K seems committed to continuing to release content and patches.

This version of Civilization VII is expected to launch on February 5, and it will run on iPhone, Mac, and iPad. There’s no mention of Apple TV, and the App Store page specifically notes that Intel Macs aren’t supported, so you’ll need an M1 or later Mac.

Apple also announced a few other Arcade releases coming on February 5, including Felicity’s Door and I Love Hue Too+. There will also be Retrocade, a digital arcade that includes Asteroids, Bubble Bobble, Centipede, Galaga, and others. Notably, Retrocade will get a Vision Pro release that will let players play on simulated cabinets in a 3D virtual arcade space.