"Firaxis Hints at Gandhi's Return in Civilization 7"

The much-anticipated Civilization 7 has hit the gaming world, but fans of the iconic strategy series are buzzing with one burning question: where's Gandhi? Since his debut in the franchise's first release back in 1991, the Indian leader has become synonymous with Civilization, even giving rise to the legendary (albeit mythical) 'Nuclear Gandhi' bug.

Surprisingly, Gandhi is missing from the base game of Civilization 7. To shed light on this omission, I reached out to Ed Beach, the lead designer of Civilization 7, who offered a glimmer of hope for Gandhi enthusiasts. Beach assured that Firaxis hasn't forgotten any previous characters and hinted at a comprehensive roadmap for future content, suggesting that Gandhi could be part of upcoming DLC.

Sounds like Gandhi is slated for upcoming DLC in Civ 7. Image credit: Firaxis.

"So I would say we haven't forgotten about anybody who's been in our game before," Beach remarked. "Certainly civilizations, there's a lot of consternation right now about where's Great Britain or England, why aren't they in our game?"

(Carthage and Great Britain will join Civ 7 as part of The Crossroads of the World Collection DLC in March 2025, followed by Bulgaria and Nepal.)

"But there's sort of a big, longer picture roadmap that we have, and some pieces fit better in the long picture roadmap than they do in the short picture one," Beach elaborated.

He further explained Firaxis' approach to selecting civilizations for Civ 7. "One thing I always think about is, we've had the same situation where iconic civilizations haven't been in our base game before," he said. "We had both Mongolia and Persia missing from the base game of either Civ 5 or Civ 6, and both of those were just massive conquerors who ruled huge chunks of Asia during their time period."

"So we always have to leave somebody out. There're just too many popular choices and we always want to have a few fresh ones that sound really new and exciting to people. So things are getting left behind, but we always are looking at the big picture, when we're going to bring leaders or civs into the fold. So there's hope for Gandhi, yet."

There you have it: there's hope for Gandhi.

Best Civ 7 Leaders

Best Civ 7 Leaders

In the short term, Firaxis may focus on addressing the 'mixed' user review rating Civilization 7 has received on Steam. The feedback largely revolves around issues with the user interface, a lack of map variety, and the absence of several key features that fans have come to expect.

In an interview with IGN ahead of the release of its third quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the negative reviews from both the press and players. However, he remained optimistic, suggesting that the "legacy Civ audience" will eventually warm up to the game as they spend more time playing, and described Civilization 7's early performance as "very encouraging."

For those looking to conquer the world in Civ 7, check out our comprehensive guides. Learn how to achieve every Civ 7 victory, explore the biggest changes from Civ 6 to Civ 7, and avoid the 14 crucial mistakes that could derail your empire. We've also detailed all the Civ 7 map types and difficulty settings to ensure you're well-prepared for your journey.