Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is getting a huge free update on 19th May, which reintroduces a series-staple mechanic: playing as the same civilization for every Age transition.

The Test of Time update has been in beta for a few months now, but the full release will be coming to all platforms — including Switch 1 and Switch 2 — in a couple of weeks.

The upcoming update consists of “three main pillars”, Firaxis details in a blog post. The first of these is the aforementioned feature, where you can stick to playing as one civilization for an entire campaign. Civilization VII forced you to change with every new age originally, so this is a welcome update for fans who want the option to swap or stick.

The next big improvement comes in the form of a new Victories system; these have now been reworked to reward player dominance and interesting choices. So your success is determined by a wider range of factors and much less limited.

Last up for the main trio is the overhaul of Legacy Paths, which will be replaced by Triumphs, new challenging objectives that will make sure every campaign feels a little more unique.

Ahead of the update’s launch, Firaxis will be releasing some Dev Diaries and Update notes. Plus, on 13th May at 7pm BST / 2pm ET / 11am PT, the developers will be playing through the update, and you can watch on Twitch or YouTube

Otherwise, here’s a list of some other fresh features coming to the game:

– A new Fractal Continent map**
– A new Commerce screen
– A new Advisor Council
– Updated map generation**
– New Narrative Events
– Updates to Specialists and Biomes
– New audio and music
– Numerous balance changes
– A Great (and FREE) new leader!*
– And more!

*Base game required. This content is free for all owners of Civilization VII and will be delivered automatically in-game on release. Terms apply.
**Map restrictions may apply to gameplay on Nintendo Switch.

Sounds like another big update, following last year’s Tides of Power Collection DLC — which you now have to pay for. But Firaxis seems to have taken a lot of early criticism of Civilization VII to heart and is actively improving on the game.

We liked it a lot on Switch, but absolutely recognise it had some flaws on launch. The Switch 2 version introduces Mouse Mode controls, 4K resolution, and 60fps, if that’s your thing.