‘Civilization 6’ Preorder Bonus: Why It’s Still Worth Preordering

By Apolon Published 10/15/16 EDT

Score 10.0

Genre(s)

Simulator

Release Date 2016-10-21

The Civilization 6 release date is now less than a week away. The game comes out on Oct. 21, and it’s almost certainly the biggest PC game release of the fall—certainly the biggest PC strategy game. And the game is very promising so far (reviews aren’t out yet). Thus, it’s time for a rare recommendation—preorder Civ 6. The preorder bonus is worth it, and the game isn’t going to let down fans of the series (quite the opposite). For once, a preorder isn’t going to leave you feeling burned.

Civilization 6 Preorder Bonus: Worth It For The Aztecs

Civ 6 pre-order bonus: Montezuma I of the Aztecs. (c) 2K Games/Firaxis

Firaxis is handling preorder bonuses, always a fraught subject, in a refreshingly fair way with Civilization 6. Customers who preorder the game get access to an extra civilization, the brutal and powerful Aztec Empire. If you don’t preorder, you don’t get the Aztecs—for three months. The Aztecs will unlock for all players in mid-January, even if they didn’t preorder. Nobody gets screwed; it’s early access to free DLC, rather than free DLC that would otherwise be paid.

It’s not much of a risk to preorder Civ 6—at least not now, a week before it comes out. Although the formal reviews aren’t out yet, the entire games media has been knee-deep in preview copies for weeks, and there’s a ton of coverage out there. If you want to know about the gameplay, features, or general feel of Civ 6, you don’t have to rely on Firaxis. Just about everything is out there already—hours and hours of in-depth hands-on impressions, both written and in video form.

If you like the Civilization series, it seems pretty likely that you’ll enjoy the new one too. The game combines the best aspects of Civ V, the series’ biggest seller, with the highlights of Civ IV and other earlier games in the series, along with adding numerous big new ideas of its own. It’s a pretty exciting moment for the biggest strategy game series around.

So you’re safe to preorder Civ 6, and get yourself some free Aztecs. I would recommend it. But here’s the great thing—you’re also safe to not preorder Civ 6 and wait three months and get your Aztecs when they’re only slightly stale. Either way, no harm done. Civ 6 is out on Oct. 21.