Firaxis has announced the Civilization 6 DLC Rulers of China release date, letting us know when strategy fans on Steam and Epic will be able to play the latest instalment of the Civ 6 Leaders Pass expansion – and it’s soon. This add-on for one of the best 4X games includes three new leaders for China, in the form of Wu Zetian, Yongle, and Qin Shi Huang the Unifier, following the arrival of the Civ 6 Great Commanders DLC.
Wu Zetian will be familiar to Civ 5 players, and the empress regnant of the Second Zhou Dynasty makes her triumphant return here. She was typically good for increasing population rather than expanding, and made a great leader to aim for a Science victory, so expect to see something similar here, though we haven’t yet discovered what the leaders’ abilities will be.
The Yongle Emperor, also known as Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty and is known for his compilation of a vast encyclopaedia known as the Yongle Encyclopaedia, as well as overseeing the construction of the Forbidden City and the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. Therefore, it’s possible he may get additional bonuses from Wonders.
Qin Shi Huang already leads China in Civ 6, but returns here in a new form as ‘The Unifier,’ so expect to see somewhat of a variation on his base iteration. The standard Qin Shi Huang gets additional build charges for builders and can spend them to speed up Wonder production, but we’d guess that he will get additional bonuses to bringing other cities or maybe even barbarians under his control based on his new title, which recognises his role as the first emperor of a unified China.
Civilization 6 Rulers of China releases on January 19 on Steam and the Epic Games store. Firaxis says in its announcement post that the remaining three packs included in the Civilization 6 Leaders Pass expansion are currently scheduled for release between January and March 2023, so expect to see more rolling out soon. The Rulers of the Sahara pack, Great Builders pack, and Rulers of England pack are the three in question.
We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more leader packs arrive. In the meantime, take a look at our pick of the best Civ 6 civs to play as, along with a selection of the best Civ 6 mods to further spice up your strategizing. If you’re looking for more to play, we’ve got more strategy games like Civilization to scratch that 4X itch.