Update: the Australian Summer update is now live.
The ‘Australian Summer’ update for Civilization VI is now live, meaning Steam Workshop integration and software development tools for modders are both available, and the Australia civilisation can now be purchased. For more details, see our original coverage below.
What do Civilization’s best modders want to see from the forthcoming toolkit? We asked them.
Original:Finally, almost four months after launch, Civilization developers Firaxis have confirmed that Steam Workshop integration and a modding toolkit will be added to Civilization VI in the next update, alongside multiplayer teams and a new premium civ: Australia.
The news comes via an announcement on the game’sSteam community. Sadly, it doesn’t come with a precise release date, but take heart from the ‘Australian Summer’ heading – it’s summer in Australia right now, meaning we probably won’t have to wait until summer rolls around in the northern hemisphere before we get to try it out. In fact, it ought to be less than a month away, or summer will turn to autumn down under.
The update will include Steam Workshop functionality and a set of Firaxis-approved modding tools. Of course, modders have already gotten into Civ VI without these features – see our list of the best Civ VI mods for the products of that labour – but they should make it much easier for modders of all abilities to do their thing, and for players to install them at the click of a button.
Australia seem pretty strong, but a bit situational in that most of their bonuses depend on geography; their cities get housing bonuses if they’re built on the coast, while their districts get bonus yields if built in appealing tiles. They get a unique tile improvement, the Outback Station, that enables adjacent pastures to steal tiles from rival civs, and their leader, John Curtin, gives a bonus to production whenever he’s targeted for a declaration of war. Check out our faction guide for a full breakdown of their abilities. A new multiplayer scenario, Outback Tycoon, will be bundled with the civilisation. They will be sold as premium DLC, likely for
Multiplayer teams, balance changes and bug fixes are also promised in the upgrade. Tweaks will target trade routes, ice caps, obsolete units and AI upgrades, with more details promised “at a later time.”
If you’re itching to know more, Firaxis are doing a live stream of the Outback Tycoon scenario later today, so you can see the Aussies in action and watch the devs answer questions about the coming update. Tune in to their twitch channelat 18:55 UK time or, if you missed it, catch the repeat on their YouTube channel.