Although the official Civ 7 release date is February 11, 2025, it's actually possible to play Civilization 7 a little earlier. Like a lot of other modern releases, the game's publisher has opted to include an early access period, giving players access to the full game up to five days early. Sadly, however, there's something of a catch.

In order to make use of Civ 7's Advanced Access period, players will need to splash out on one of the special editions of Civilization VII. For those who planned on doing so anyway, being able to play the game early should come as a nice little bonus. For everybody else, though, a somewhat difficult decision may now be at hand.

How to Play Civ 7 Early

To play Civ 7 early, players will need to buy either the Deluxe Edition or the Founders Edition of Civilization VII. The former will cost players $99.99, which is $30 more than the standard edition of the game. The Founders Edition will set them back a whopping $129.99, making it almost double the price of the base game. It's important to note that both of these versions come with a bunch of bonus content as well as early access, so whether or not either version is worth the extra expenditure will vary from player to player.

Assuming players pay extra for a copy that includes the game, the collector's edition of Civilization VII will provide a Steam key for the Founders Edition, so collector's edition owners will also be able to play Civ 7 early.

Civ 7 Early Access Release Date and Time

The early access period for Civ 7 will begin at midnight (local time) on February 6 for console owners. As always, local time will be determined by the region of one's digital storefront account. However, as the PlayStation store runs on Eastern Time, those living in other US timezones will get to start playing the game a little earlier. Early access for PC players will go live at midnight, Eastern Time. For those living outside of the US, you can find out the Civ 7 early access release time in your time zone by checking the relevant table below.

When Can I Start Playing Civ 7 Early Access on Console?

When Can I Start Playing Civ 7 Early Access on PC?