Civilization 6 is out now, to generally rave reviews, but it’s got one big problem: The initial 20 civilizations (21 with the preorder Aztecs) are very Euro-centric and many big names from outside of Europe are missing—including top Civilization series regulars. The game is going to get DLC or expansions of some kind, probably a bit of both—that’s what happened in Civ V. Hopefully we’ll get some civilizations first and fill in some of the blanks on the map, especially in the New World and Asia. Here are the biggest ones we’re missing.
Civilization 6 DLC Civs: Fill In The Big Gaps
Persia
Persia has been in every Civilization game, every vanilla version, from Civ 1 to Civ V. The Persians aren’t in Civ 6 and it’s the game’s most shocking oversight besides the lack of an Earth map. Persian immortals are a staple of the series. And Persia is genuinely one of the oldest civilizations in the world and the Achaemenid Empire was the largest in history at that time. They should be the first DLC.
A Southeast Asian Empire
Civilization 6 shipped with just a handful of Asian civilizations, and even fewer from East Asia. All told, the Asian civs in Civ 6 are limited to Arabia, Sumeria, India, China and Japan. That leaves huge gaps: In Western Asia, we’re missing Persia and the Turks, but East Asia is usually far better represented. There’s no Korea, nor is there anyone from Southeast Asia. This gap should be filled with DLC, and there are loads of good options. Civ V had Siam and eventually Indonesia, and Civ IV had the Khmer Empire. Civ VI could also go with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, or other regional kingdoms. But the game needs to add someone. It’s shocking that the region was ignored.
Carthage, Mali Or Ethiopia
In Civ VI, Africa got a bright new star in the Kongo, a civ we haven’t seen before and one much more refreshing than the tired Zulu, a series perennial. Africa is still pretty lightly represented, though, with only Egypt and Kongo. Both the Mediterranean African region and the sub-Saharan area could use another civilization, and the most obvious choices are Carthage in the north and Mali or Ethiopia in the South. Civ V did Songhai and Civ IV had Mali and eventually Ethiopia. Civ VI needs to round out its roster; I’d vote for Ethiopia, since we haven’t seen them all that much and they’re more interesting.
Two More Native American Civilizations
Civilization 6 really needs more New World civilizations—and not colonial empires like the United States and Brazil. The only native New World civilization in the game is the Aztec Empire and they were only available as a preorder bonus / free time-locked DLC. The game should add, in either a DLC or as an expansion, two more New World native civilizations, one from Central or South America and one from North America north of Mexico. That basically means the Maya or (more likely) the Inca for the former and a native American tribe for the latter. In the past we’ve seen the Iroquois, the Shoshone, the Sioux and a generalized Native American empire; Civ VI could go with any of them or wrangle up somebody new.
All of these civilizations matter: Civ 6’s big gaps on the world map and its focus on Europe are a surprising departure for a series that has generally been pretty good about this stuff. There’s little doubt that the latest iteration will improve over the course of the next few expansion packs and DLC releases; it’s just a matter of time. And this list is where the series should start; after that, the world is wide open. Maybe we’ll see a few more unusual choices—the Seleucid Empire? Austria-Hungary? Canada? But let’s hit the basics first.
