Civilization 7 Won't Require 2K Launcher On PC

The tech tree is getting an upgrade for Sid Meier's Civilization series. That's because the contentious 2K launcher won't be needed for Civilization VII when it launches in 2025. Additionally, the launcher was removed from Civilization VI on Steam this week.

The announcement was made on the Steam page for Civilization VI, with no further explanation provided. However, the 2K launcher had been "causing technical issues" for Civilization VI over the past couple of months on Steam, requiring hotfixes in June and July.

It's not the first time the 2K launcher has created problems for a game, either. In 2022, Marvel's Midnight Suns players on Steam figured out that disabling the launcher solved some performance issues related to frame rate. Needless to say, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive on the Civilization subreddit regarding the news.

Civilization VII was officially unveiled at Summer Game Fest a couple of months ago. The strategy game will arrive next year at the same time on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. Take-Two originally revealed that Firaxis was working on a new entry in the Civilization franchise in early 2023. At that time, XCOM's Jake Solomon left the developer after directing Midnight Suns.

Meanwhile, Civilization VI released back in 2016. For more, check out GameSpot's Civilization VI review.