It seems like playing the upcoming Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on the go won’t be difficult, as developer Firaxis has announced that the latest entry in the series will be the first to earn the Steam Deck Verified badge.
The much-awaited sequel to Sid Meier’s Civilization series was officially announced during the Summer Game Fest in June 2024. Fans of the strategy series didn’t have to wait long for a concrete release date, as it was revealed just two months later – February 6th, 2025. With the release now just weeks away, there’s even more good news for fans: the highly anticipated strategy game is confirmed to receive the Steam Deck Verified label.
The official Civilization X account announced the news a few days ago with a simple post captioned, “Civ 7 is officially Steam Deck verified.” This indicates that the upcoming title will be fully compatible with Valve’s handheld, offering comprehensive support for its controls and native resolution.
Civilization 7 is the first Steam Deck Verified game in the franchise
This is exciting news for fans of the Civ series, as the upcoming game will be the first entry in the franchise to earn the Steam Deck Verified badge. Civilization 7 follows a lengthy eight-year gap since Civilization 6, which, even today, is only rated as “Playable” on Valve’s handheld. Even without verification, fans report that Civ 6 was “amazing on Deck” – so official developer support this time round should be even better.
Its predecessors missed out on the Verified badge for several reasons, such as occasionally displaying non-Steam-Deck controller icons and requiring text input through the on-screen keyboard. Another issue noted on the Civilization 6 Steam page is the small text, which can be difficult to read on the handheld’s 7.4-inch screen. Despite these challenges, Civilization 6 remains fairly compatible with the device, especially considering that it launched five and a half years before the Steam Deck.
Civilization 7 system requirements
Civilization 7’s minimum system requirements are within the Steam Deck’s operating capabilities, including 8GB of RAM, a GTX 1050 or RX 460, and an i5-4690 or Ryzen 3 1200 – or equivalent hardware. It’s no surprise that developers have optimized the game to run on the Steam Deck, especially since it’s also confirmed to be coming to the Nintendo Switch, a significantly less powerful device.
| Specification | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel i5-4690 / Intel i3-10100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 | Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1050 / AMD RX 460 / Intel Arc A380 | NVIDIA RTX 2060 / AMD RX 6600 / Intel Arc A750 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) | Windows 10 (64-bit) |
| DirectX version | DirectX 12 | DirectX 12 |
| Storage space | 20 GB | 20 GB |
In addition to PC and handheld devices, the game will be compatible with the latest two generations of Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Notably, Civ 7 is also the first entry in the franchise to have a simultaneous day-one release on both PC and consoles. Previous installments were either PC exclusives or expanded to other platforms only after their initial launch. That said, the new installment is set to introduce a wealth of gameplay content, new mechanics, and a focus on playing as multiple leaders across different eras.