PCGame

Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

Historical turn-based 4X strategy about building and expanding civilizations

Firaxis Games · Published by 2K · Released Oct 25, 2006

Strategy

Reviews
Very Positive
92% of 2,966
Recent reviews
Very Positive
92% of 14 in 30 days
Players
596
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Playable
Last update on Steam
12 years ago
Jun 5, 2014
Minimum PC
–
not published

Metacritic: 94/100 (critic reviews)

What is Sid Meier's Civilization® IV?

A historical turn-based 4X strategy game in which you manage and expand a civilization, develop technology, and pursue different victory conditions. It supports single-player and multiplayer matches.

For you if...

  • +you want deep turn-based strategy with varied victory paths
  • +you value replayability, leader variety, and challenging AI
  • +you enjoy managing a civilization over long matches

Not for you if...

  • −you prefer fast real-time action over turn-based planning
  • −you want modern graphics and interface conventions
  • −you dislike unpredictable combat outcomes and difficult AI

What players say

92% of 2,966 reviews are positive · 92% of 14 in the last 30 days

Players praise its strategic depth and replayability, with the soundtrack also singled out. The most common concrete complaint is trouble launching or crashing on Windows 10 and 11; others criticize dated presentation and combat results they consider unfair.

Players over time

▼ -1% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 635 players on Oct 4, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 2026596
Nov 6, 2026538
Nov 5, 2026514
Nov 4, 2026552
Nov 3, 2026547
Nov 2, 2026594
Nov 1, 2026568
Oct 31, 2026546
Oct 30, 2026524
Oct 29, 2026510
Oct 28, 2026510
Oct 27, 2026431
Oct 27, 2026534
Oct 26, 2026544
Oct 25, 2026570
Oct 24, 2026554
Oct 23, 2026510
Oct 22, 20260
Oct 21, 2026556
Oct 20, 2026541
Oct 19, 2026565
Oct 18, 2026621
Oct 17, 2026575
Oct 16, 2026535
Oct 15, 2026557
Oct 14, 2026528
Oct 13, 2026559
Oct 12, 2026596
Oct 11, 2026573
Oct 10, 2026524
Oct 9, 2026562
Oct 8, 2026536
Oct 7, 2026561
Oct 6, 2026581
Oct 5, 2026592
Oct 4, 2026635
Oct 3, 2026581
Oct 2, 2026542
Oct 1, 2026581
Sep 30, 2026576
Sep 29, 2026552
Sep 28, 2026606
Sep 27, 2026622
Sep 26, 2026579
Sep 25, 2026543
Sep 24, 2026550
Sep 23, 2026444
Sep 23, 2026580
Sep 22, 2026586
Sep 21, 2026605

Screenshots and trailer

Sid Meier's Civilization® IV screenshot 1

Sid Meier's Civilization® IV system requirements

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Sid Meier's Civilization® IV?

The published requirements do not name a graphics card we can compare.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

Windows 2000/XP, 1.2GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent, 256MB RAM, 64 MB Video Card w/ Hardware T&L (GeForce 2/Radeon 7500 or better) DirectX7 compatible sound card, 1.7GB of free hard drive space, DirectX9.0c (included) Recommended: Windows 2000/XP, 1.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent/better, 512 MB RAM, 128 MB Video Card w/ DirectX 8 support (pixel and vertex shaders), DirectX7 compatible sound card, 1.7GB of free hard drive space, DirectX9.0c (included)

Does Sid Meier's Civilization® IV have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: multiplayer (mode not specified). It also has a single-player mode.

Does Sid Meier's Civilization® IV run on Steam Deck?

Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.

  • Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
  • Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
  • Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
  • The native resolution is not the default one
  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Keyboard and mouse
Platforms
Windows, macOS
Steam features
Family Sharing
Languages
Text only: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain.

Does Sid Meier's Civilization® IV use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

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