Civilization 7 update adds pirates and “powerful” Ocean Tiles, but Firaxis won’t say more: “You’ll notice smaller, less frequent updates while the team shifts into testing”

Firaxis adds that naval combat has been overhauled to feel more consequential, expanding tactical options with ranged attacks and by separating naval units into Light and Heavy classes.

The update will be accompanied by the Tides of Power content collection. Tides of Power introduces the Tonga civilization and the Republic of Pirates—the latter slated to arrive in December—alongside the pirate leader Sayyida al Hurra, with additional civs including the Ottomans and Iceland.

Beach cautions that as the team moves into the holiday season, updates will become smaller and less frequent while the studio focuses on testing and iterating these substantial changes and preparing the new Workshop playtesting initiative.

In the meantime, Firaxis says ocean enthusiasts have plenty to look forward to.

Firaxis says Civilization 7 is testing dramatic changes to its Ages system that could let you play as a single faction for an entire game.