Civilization 7 exists, but if you want to know more than that you're going to have to wait for its full reveal in August

In what might have been a surprise announcement—had 2K not accidentally posted a banner image on its website hours before the show—Civilization 7 has been announced at the Summer Games Fest conference. It's releasing in 2025.

"Great," you think, "please tell me all about its big innovations—the things that will set this sequel apart from the previous six games." And, well, bad news.

The teaser trailer is more of a mood piece, running through the emotive hits of a standard 4X campaign. The nomads become stonemasons; build great cities; ready for war. Music and trade and art and exploration and industry. The choir swells. A train! Truly we are in an enlightened age. The hammers strike, and forged in coal and grime and toil, electricity is born. A great city. A rocket. The number 7. A message: "Watch the gameplay showcase this August."

So yeah, right now Firaxis are keeping tight-lipped about what Civilization 7 will offer—at least beyond all of the usual Civilization things. The Steam page is equally light on details. 

"Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history," it says. "Establish your civilization, construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations in pursuit of prosperity, and explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Will you build an empire that stands the test of time?"

Hopefully that August showcase will be worth the wait. It's been eight years since Civilization 6's release, which means it's been 14 years since Civilization 5—the last game in the series to truly consume whole chunks of my life. At this point, I'm desperately looking for more than just the same again but with prettier maps. And in the time since Civ 6, there have been plenty of attempts to progress and evolve the historical 4X formula, from Old World, which we loved, to Humankind, which we were less enamoured by. Point being, this time Firaxis has some competition to contend with.

For now, we have a name, the promise that we'll be playing it next year, and a couple of months to wait before we find out what Firaxis has been cooking in the near-decade since the last game.