Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is almost here, and it’s shaping up to be a considerably more console-friendly experience than its predecessor was at launch. With Firaxis and 2K Games placing importance on fluid gamepad control, the future of Civ 7 on Steam Deck (and other PC handhelds like the ROG Ally and Legion GO) already looked bright. And today it looks even brighter with the game’s newly updated PC requirements for the native Linux version.
Here’s the foundational hardware you’ll want to run in the official Linux edition of Civilization VII. This setting delivers 1080p/30FPS with the low graphics quality preset:
Curiously, the minimum requirements for the Windows version shows an Nvidia GTX 1050, while on Linux the developer lists a GTX 1060. Still, it’s refreshing to see a PC game in 2025 that isn’t abandoning millions of gamers with steep minimum requirements like hardware-level ray tracing.
How does this translate for Steam Deck users?At first glance, you might think they’re unlucky. After all, it’s widely accepted that the Steam Deck’s equivalent desktop GPUs are either the Nvidia GTX 1050Ti or the AMD Radeon RX 570. These are just below the indexed graphics cards for Civ 7’s minimum Linux requirements. But the Steam Deck also runs at a lower resolution: 1280 x 800 compared to the popular 1920 x 1080 desktop. Therefore, I am confident that Civ 7 will run smoothly on Deck; eventually it will even become Steam. Certified cover.
And don’t worry, Ubuntu is not a hard requirement. Rather, people running Ubuntu should ensure they’re using 22.04 or higher, and that’s mainly down to having updated software libraries to ensure a reliable gaming experience on Steam. Certainly, any current Linux distro (like Fedora, Zorin OS, Bazzite, or Mint) running a modern kernel should fit the bill.
As Firaxis did with Civilization VI, the developer is once again offering Linux users a compromised edition of Civilization VII. (MacOS users will also get benefits from a compromised port, as long as the Mac runs Apple Silicon. ) Honestly, it’s an unexpected move given the status of Valve’s Proton, the compatibility layer that helps Windows games run (and work well) on Linux, and Steam Deck powered by SteamOS.
When Civ 6 launched in 2018, Steam Proton in its first few months, Steam Deck didn’t exist, and the state of Linux gaming had slightly begun its positive upward trajectory. In fact, a local Linux edition made sense at the time, especially for a game that, at the time of its release, is decidedly a PC experience.
Firaxis doesn’t want to do that in 2025, just as Hello Games didn’t want to produce a steady stream of core content updates for No Man’s Sky after the game more than deserved its multi-year return. But goodwill is going a long way.
There’s another reason, though. Proton isn’t foolproof or bulletproof. We frequently see game updates that break the fragile state of compatibility with Linux. Sometimes this results in degraded performance; sometimes it results in the game no longer running at all.
With a dedicated Linux version, there is no guesswork about which Proton version to use. No unintentional breakage. The developer is in full control of ensuring gamers have the best experience possible. And with Linux gaming on the rise, this is a good look for game developers to have.
Civilization VII will be released on February 11, 2025 and I am eager to test the functionality of the local Linux edition and the Steam Proton edition. Stay tuned for that!
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