PAX West 2026 Recap: Celebrating 35 Years of Civ in Seattle

If you caught any of the Firaxis team around Seattle the first weekend of September, you probably noticed two things: massive smiles and an unbelievable amount of energy and excitement.

PAX West is always a special event, with over 100,000 gaming enthusiasts coming through the halls over the course of the show. But this year was a huge milestone for us. September officially kicks off “Civtember,” and we’re using the moment to celebrate a milestone 35 years in the making.

35 years of “just one more turn” is a rare achievement in our industry. It’s a testament to every developer who has shaped this franchise since 1991 and every player who has built empires alongside us over the decades. What better way to launch this anniversary month than sitting in a room full of hundreds of passionate fans to reveal what’s next for Civilization VII?!

We started the panel with a look back at the franchise, including a retrospective video montage and special message from Sid Meier. But the real highlight of the trip was finally sharing what’s coming up next for Civilization VII.

Panel host and fellow Firaxian Matt Schembari led the session alongside Creative Director Ed Beach, Game Director Matt Owens, Lead Producer Tom Shaw, and special guest Dr. Joel Green (an astrophysicist who is partnering with us to help ground our space-age reveal in real science).

Together, we laid out what’s lies ahead for the game:

• Update 1.5.0: Rolling out this month with quality improvements, fixes, and new content. Check out the new Dev Video that just dropped
• Arc of Tomorrow Update: A massive, completely free update for Civilization VII players ushering in the long awaited fourth age. Landing in 2027, the update introduces a whole new Atomic Age and the return of fan-favorite leader Gandhi! Get all the details.
• Earthrise Expansion: We’re taking Civ to space! It’s our first paid space-focused expansion, allowing players to build space programs and venture off of Earth. You can wishlist it now.
• Firaxis Feature Workshop: Our new program is back! Get the chance to playtest early content and give direct feedback to our devs while features are still being built. Register here.

Pulling off a panel like this requires serious coordination. Before stepping on stage, the team ran through a morning tech rehearsal at the venue before returning to the hotel to review the presentation and lock in every detail.

To give attendees something special to take home, our team also partnered with a squad of incredible PAX volunteers to hand-wrap over 700 Earthrise and 35th Anniversary poster sets along with exclusive Earthrise and 35th Anniversary pins. An hour after the session concluded, we moved to a dedicated room for a post-panel Meet & Greet, signing posters and chatting with players.

For everyone who couldn’t join us in Seattle, you can catch up on all the reveals and watch the full panel stream on YouTube

A huge thank you to the devs you traveled to the event, the on-site partners, our Firaxis crew back home, the PAX volunteers who helped, and every fan who came out to watch or tuned in online. You make 35 years possible! We’re back at our desks feeling energized, and can’t wait to share more during Civtember and in the months ahead.