Civilization VII Announces Arc of Tomorrow and Earthrise: Atomic Age and Space in 2027

Firaxis revealed two pieces of content for 2027 at PAX West on September 5, 2026: a free update that adds a fourth Age to Civilization VII, and its first paid expansion, themed around space. What matters is not the announcement itself but the line between what stays free and what gets sold.

Update, October 26, 2026: patch 1.5.0 was released on September 15, with the real-world Earth map. Earthrise opened its Steam page to wishlists on September 16, still with no price shown. Firaxis has also said both products will bring new civilizations and leaders, without giving a number.

Two announcements, one tension

The game is still divisive, and Firaxis knows it. In creative director Ed Beach’s post on Steam, the studio ties these announcements to the series’ 35th anniversary and to the momentum of May’s Test of Time update. Details and timing are presented as subject to change.

Arc of Tomorrow: a free fourth Age

Arc of Tomorrow will be free for every owner of the game, and Firaxis calls it bigger in scope than Test of Time. It introduces the Atomic Age, which extends the timeline from the 1950s to the 2050s, with buildings, units, visuals, civilizations and leaders specific to the period. You can play through from Antiquity or start straight in that Age with an Advanced Start.

The announced systems are specific. Nuclear play gains offensive and defensive options. Multilateral agreements let leaders react together to a growing stockpile of warheads, through disarmament or escalation. You will be able to turn your own settlements into city-states, fight proxy wars through them, and craft manufactured goods such as enriched uranium.

According to PCGamesN, the update will not arrive before 2027.

Earthrise: the space race across the whole campaign

Earthrise is Civilization VII’s first paid expansion. Its designers cite Brave New World and Gathering Storm as models: a strong theme and systems that shape entire campaigns. Here the loop is about space. In the Antiquity and Exploration Ages you chart the night sky and name celestial bodies. The Modern Age brings the first orbital missions around Earth and the Moon. In the Atomic Age a space agency launches missions across the solar system and brings back resources.

The second pillar is adapting to the environment. New units and technologies change terrain and tile bonuses, and civil engineering structures help you withstand more frequent natural disasters as temperatures rise, or even reverse the warming. The price has not been announced, and the expansion is expected in 2027.

Patch 1.5.0 comes first

Patch 1.5.0 was due “this month”, according to Firaxis. It brings the True Start Location Earth map, which generates the land, features and resources of the real world. Each civilization starts near its historical origin, and natural wonders appear in their real locations.

Terra Incognita and Shuffle move to Voronoi generation for more varied maps. Resource generation is revised and the interface gains tooltips and a tile ruler. On the diplomacy side, influence lets you stay in an alliance without joining an ally’s wars.

What to watch now

The line between Arc of Tomorrow and Earthrise is the real unknown. If the most anticipated Atomic Age civilizations ended up behind the paywall, the free content would look like a skeleton. If the split is clear, this model could relaunch the game for good.

Two other points matter: game length with four Ages, and Earthrise’s price. Worth watching if you left Civilization VII: patch 1.5.0 already gives a reason to come back, and the rest depends on what Firaxis shows in the coming months.

Sources: Firaxis post on Steam, PCGamesN, Earthrise page announcement.

Going further

• Our Civilization 7 hub: every article on the game.
• Civilization VII 1.5.0: The True Start Location Earth Map Arrives, but Only on Huge and in Antiquity: the map in detail.
• Civilization 7 Update 1.4.2: Gold, Influence and Reworked Peace Deals: diplomacy before 1.5.0.