Sid Meier's Civilization VII update 1.5.1 was rolling out across all platforms on November 10, 2026. It disables active mods and changes how Great People are earned, while adding settlement Liberation, map searches and new maps.
The official patch notes also caution that some new abilities or effects may require a new game to appear. Steam players who want to continue a save on an earlier version can use the “legacy” beta branch.
Great People and settlement Liberation
Great People are no longer created through the production queue. They are now awarded automatically when a civilization's particular conditions are met. For the Abbasids, for example, placing a specialist in an Abbasid unique quarter grants an Alim Great Person.
Liberation gives players another option for a settlement conquered or obtained through a peace treaty: under certain conditions, it can be returned to its original founder. Returning it to an eligible major civilization grants a diplomatic bonus, provided the player is not currently at war with that civilization.
A former city-state can also be liberated if the player was its suzerain. Doing so restores both suzerainty and its former bonus, giving the decision a diplomatic effect beyond returning the settlement.
New maps and search tools
Unit List lets players search and sort their empire's units. Map Search can find elements such as tiles, units and buildings on the visible part of the map. With a controller, Unit List opens from the radial menu, while Map Search is available above the minimap.
Randomized Earth keeps an Earth-like shape but randomly generates features including resources, rivers and wonders. Players can choose a historical or random starting position.
Donut has a Pangaea-like landmass surrounding an inland ocean, with another ocean outside it. The oceans normally do not connect, although certain rivers, lakes and settlement placements can create waterways between them.
Mods and existing saves
The update disables all active mods. To reactivate an installed mod, open “Add-ons” from the main menu and enable it in the list. The team recommends giving creators time to update and stabilize their mods before turning them back on.
Some new abilities or effects may not appear in an existing save until a new game is started. That limitation does not mean all older saves are incompatible.
On Steam, the “legacy” beta branch offers a way to continue a save on a previous version. It is an option to consider if an ongoing game depends on its current settings and mods.
See also the Sid Meier's Civilization VII game page.
