Civilization VII: Earthrise Explained

Earthrise is Sid Meier’s Civilization VII’s first paid expansion. Announced by Firaxis Games and 2K during the franchise’s 35th-anniversary presentations at PAX West 2026, it is planned for 2027, after the free Arc of Tomorrow update. Rather than treating space as a final-era objective, Firaxis is building the expansion around a thread that starts with astronomy and runs through the whole campaign. 717

What Earthrise adds

Earthrise is themed around the historic space race and humanity’s relationship with both space and the environment. Firaxis says the expansion will introduce new gameplay systems, content, civilizations, and leaders, with additional details to come. 717

The announced progression is intended to span the Ages:

• Antiquity and Exploration: civilizations chart the sky, study celestial bodies, and can turn astronomical knowledge into a strategic advantage. Naming celestial bodies is part of this early exploration layer. 1723
• Modern Age: humanity begins spaceflight through missions around Earth and the Moon. 17
• Atomic Age: players establish a space agency, launch missions across the solar system, and survey nearby worlds for discoveries that benefit their civilization on Earth. 1723

That structure matters because it makes scientific and space-focused decisions relevant long before a late-game launch. Firaxis has described Earthrise as a campaign-wide thematic expansion, not simply a new final objective. 17

Environmental adaptation is the other half of the expansion

Earthrise also adds systems centered on how civilizations reshape—and respond to—their environments. Announced features include new units and technologies that can alter terrain and tile bonuses, plus advantages tied to specializing in particular biomes. 17

Climate pressure will be more consequential as well. As global temperatures rise and natural disasters intensify, players will be able to build civil-engineering structures intended to withstand those disasters. Firaxis also says players will have ways to reverse warming. The exact balance, requirements, and limits of those systems have not yet been detailed. 117

Why Brave New World and Gathering Storm are the reference points

Firaxis has cited Civilization V: Brave New World and Civilization VI: Gathering Storm as key inspirations for Earthrise. The shared model is a strong central theme supported by systems that change the shape of an entire campaign. 17

For Earthrise, the theme joins planetary stewardship with the march from observing the sky to exploring the solar system. In principle, that means the expansion’s strategic choices should connect early development, environmental planning, diplomacy, and late-game space missions rather than isolate them into separate features. 17

The updates arriving before Earthrise

Update 1.5.0: September 2026

Update 1.5.0 is scheduled to arrive before the 2027 content. Its headline addition is True Start Location: Earth, a map setup built around real-world geography, geographically representative civilization starts, and varied natural-wonder placement. 621

The update also includes Voronoi-based generation changes for the Terra Incognita and Shuffle map types, faster map loading and generation, and more varied resource placement. Diplomacy changes let players spend Influence to remain allied without automatically joining an ally’s wars. Planned interface improvements include clearer plot tooltips, settlement banners, setup screens, and tile rulers. 17

Arc of Tomorrow: free in 2027

Arc of Tomorrow is a separate, free major update for all Civilization VII players. It adds the Atomic Age as the game’s fourth Age, extending the playable timeline from approximately the 1950s into the 2050s. It will bring Age-specific gameplay, buildings, units, visuals, music, civilizations, leaders, and narrative content; Firaxis has specifically confirmed Gandhi’s return. 717

The Atomic Age update is also planned to expand nuclear gameplay with new offensive and defensive options, a revised mutually assured destruction dynamic, and multilateral agreements around issues such as escalation and disarmament. Players will be able to recognize settlement independence and release settlements as City-States, with expanded City-State interaction and proxy-war systems. 17

Firaxis plans to use the revived Firaxis Feature Workshop for early Arc of Tomorrow testing, with its first playtest round expected later in 2026. That means features shown on the roadmap remain subject to change through development and player feedback. 1117

Earthrise release date and price

The firm details are limited: Earthrise is a paid expansion planned for 2027, and it is scheduled to follow Arc of Tomorrow. Firaxis and 2K have not announced a precise launch date or price. 37

For now, the clearest expectation is that the free Atomic Age update will establish Civ VII’s longer modern-to-near-future timeline, then Earthrise will extend that campaign with its astronomy, space-agency, solar-system, and environmental systems. 717