A New Chapter for a Legendary Franchise
The Civilization franchise – created by Sid Meier, developed by Firaxis Games, and published by 2K – has been shaping the course of video game history since 1991, selling over 60 million copies to date across the series.
In this turn-based strategy series, players guide a civilization from the Stone Age to the Space Age and beyond, with the goal of achieving world dominance through military, cultural, scientific, or diplomatic methods.
Its seventh main installment, Civilization VII, launched in February 2025 to continue the legacy – but the teams at Firaxis and 2K needed support in two critical areas: co-development and voice production. The goal was to ensure a smooth technical experience across platforms while enriching the game’s narrative with globally resonant performances.
Civilization VII (Image Credit: PlayStationTrophies.org)
Codev: Adapting to a New UI Era
Foundations of a lasting partnership
Side's Codev team was tasked with helping Firaxis ensure optimal performance and consistency across both consoles and PC on Sid Meier's Civilization VII.
Having already worked with the Firaxis team on the prior installment in the franchise Civilization VI, our team was adept at working with the developers’ proprietary engine. Some of our engineers have even worked on Civilization projects longer than in-house engineers, playing a critical role in the development and optimization of the UI across the series.
Throughout both projects, our team supported by helping design, prototype, and implement multiple critical game screens based on the game design needs. Prior to the launch of the previous series title, our team was heavily invested in bug fixing, which was a key opportunity to learn and integrate with the Firaxis team. Supporting the launch of several subsequent DLCs further strengthened our team’s integration, with the “World Climate” screen of the first Civilization VI DLC being the first big screen that we spearhead, from prototyping to implementation and final polish.
World Climate Screen in Civilization VI
New horizons in Civilization VII
With Civilization VII came further unique challenges as Firaxis chose to use Coherent Gameface technology for its UI. Gameface is a game UI engine built on standard web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
Adopting this framework required both teams to quickly adapt our workflows to leverage its capabilities. Despite some early learning curves, the end result was well worth it. The alignment with web development provided greater flexibility when compared to previous proprietary UI systems from the earlier generation of Civilization titles.
One of the key challenges of Civilization VII was a focus on developing the console UI alongside the PC UI, which hadn’t been done on previous projects. We spearheaded several screens from the beginning, with major ones being the “Settlement Management” screens like the production list and building placement.
Settlement Management Screen in Civilization VII
Implementation & animation support
In addition to UI engineering, Firaxis also needed support with input system development and technical animation support.
Side played a big role in the development of the input system, from implementing the core C++ side to how that system interacts with the UI. This work started in Civilization VI but quickly expanded throughout the development of Civilization VII, where multi-platform support was a target from the beginning of the project. Our engineers also worked closely with the core gameplay engineers on game systems, fixing bugs and determining the best way for game systems to expose data to the UI.
Lastly, our Codev team also provided technical animation support, assisting technical animation requirements, making sure character and unit animations worked smoothly across all platforms and within the game's complex strategy systems.
Voice Production: Bringing the Narrative to Life
Aside from streamlining development, 2K and Firaxis wanted to take Civilization VII's audio to the next level with a notable first for the series.
For our part, Side was tasked with supporting a key portion of the English voice production of the game – handling studio recording, direction, and post-production.
Recording and directing from our flagship London studio, we worked with renowned actress Gwendoline Christie as Civilization VII's narrator, making her the first female narrator the franchise has ever had.
Gwendoline Christie in Civilization VII (Image Credit: GameSpot)
Known for her roles as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones and Captain Phasma in Star Wars, Christie's commanding voice guides players through the ages. You can listen to a portion of the performance as heard in the Narrator Reveal Trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw6H7r8S_Wk
Christie’s casting by Firaxis and 2K was widely praised, with fans noting the continued Game of Thrones connection following Sean Bean’s role as narrator in Civilization VI. Critics likewise highlighted her performance as one of the audio high points at launch.
But bringing in high-profile talent demands both technical expertise and a studio environment that puts actors at ease – something our Side Audio team is no stranger to, having worked with the likes of Keanu Reeves on Cyberpunk 2077 among many other well-known actors.
Ultimately, by helping shape and capture Christie’s performance, Side ensured that Civilization VII launched with a narrator whose presence both elevated the storytelling and reinforced the franchise’s evolution into new creative territory.
Shaping the Course of Civilization
In working on Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, our teams at Side played a key supporting role for both the narrative elements and the technical experience of the game.
From producing immersive voiceover led by Gwendoline Christie as the first female narrator in the series, to supporting complex UI engineering across multiple platforms, Side’s contributions helped expand the franchise's legacy in powerful new ways, and we’ve been proud to provide ongoing support to the Civilization series through live updates.
Our collaboration with 2K and Firaxis Games, and the overall commitment to excellence from all parties involved, allowed Civilization VII to be not only a continuation, but an evolution, of the series – ready for generations of players to enjoy.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is currently available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Special thanks to Keaton VanAuken (Senior Game Programmer) as well as our partners at Firaxis Games and 2K for their collaboration on this project.
From creative audio to all-encompassing codev teams, we’re ready to partner on your next project – any genre, any scope, any platform. Get in touch with and let’s see what we can create together.