It has been 9 years since a new Civilization game was released. On February 11, 2025, Sid Meier’s Civilization VII debuted on all popular platforms, including PC (Windows, macOS, Linux), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and even the Steam Deck. So, it is pretty clear that Firaxis Games and 2K have not left any fan of the series unable to play it. However, despite the game’s availability on a variety of platforms, it is the issues that are restricting players from enjoying it. One such issue is the crashing issue that many are facing while trying to run the game on a PC. Well, if you too are encountering the same problem, consider reading this guide, as we have shared all the effective workarounds for you to try.
Crashing issues in games are quite common now. Almost every player has experienced crashing issues when trying to launch a game. This is mainly due to the fact that every system is different, given its configuration and applications installed. While for the majority, the issue lies with the game itself, sometimes it is also possible that the system is to blame. That said, continue reading to know which workarounds you need to use to get rid of this crashing problem for good.
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Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Crashing Issues: How to fix it
As of now, there hasn’t been any official fix or acknowledgment released for the game’s crashing issues. So, you are left with the suggested workarounds shared in this guide.
Restart
Given that the game’s crashing on your system, why don’t you start with a simple system restart? This can sometimes do wonders. So, what’s the harm in trying? While you’re at it, you can also try rebooting in safe mode and then launching the game. After the restart, launch the game with admin rights and then check whether the issue persists.
AVX2 Compatible CPU
While Civ VII doesn’t specifically require AVX2 support to run, it seems that Denuvo (the anti-piracy software that the game uses) does. This is why if you own an old-gen CPU that isn’t AVX2 compatible, you won’t be able to launch the game. So, before you try any more workarounds, check whether your system’s CPU is AVX2 compatible. If not, then consider upgrading.
Launch via the game’s .exe
For this workaround, you’ll need to access the game’s installation directory and then launch it via the .exe file. How? First, launch Steam and then open Library. Now, right-click on the game and then select Manage>Browse Local Files. Selecting this option will take you to the game’s installation directory. Here, open the Binaries folder and then the Win64 folder. Here, find the .exe file and right-click on it to select the Run as Admin option. After this, the game should launch.
Use Vulkan/Dx12
When you launch the game via Steam, the launcher will appear before the game’s loading screen. On the launcher menu, try selecting different renders, which include Vulkan and DX12. Check if switching them works.
Verify Game Files
If file corruption is the cause behind this issue, then you will need to verify the game files to fix the problem. For this, go back to Steam and access Library. Here, right-click on Civ VII and select Properties. Next, go to the Installed Files tab, then select the Verify Integrity of Game Files option. Once the scan is complete, launch the game to check whether the issue persists.
Run Steam in Offline Mode
While this seems unrelated, running Steam in offline mode before launching the game has fixed the crashing issue for many. So, you should try the same. To do this, open Steam, access the Steam option in the top-right corner, and then select the Go Offline option. Now, go to Library and then double-click on Civ VII to launch it.
Change in-game Settings
For this workaround, access the game’s settings menu via the launcher and then open the Graphics tab. Here, make sure that the Quality Preset is set to Low and that Ray Tracing is turned off. Also, use AMD FSR 3 for Upscaling/Anti-Aliasing to get the best results.
Tweak game files
Since there’s no evidence of what the real reason behind this issue is, you’ll need to try every possible fix there is to try. So, here’s another workaround you can try that involves tweaking the game files, especially the tooltip-controller.js, model-age-scores.js and model-great-works.js files. Where to find them? Simply head over to the game’s installation directory and then follow the given steps:
tooltip-controller.js
To access this file, go to modules\core\ui\tooltips\tooltip-controller.js directory in the game’s installation folder. Open the file using Notepad and then access the line 88 function. Now, make the changes as follows:
onTooltipAttributeMutated() {
if (this.scratchElement) {this.scratchContent = this.scratchElement.getAttribute(“data-tooltip-content”) ?? “”;
this.previousContent = this.scratchContent;
this.controller.showTooltipElement(this.scratchElement, this.scratchContent);
}
}
model-age-scores.js
To access this file, go to the modules\base-standard\ui\age-scores\model-age-scores.js directory and open the .js file using Notepad. Now, scroll down to line 142 and make changes to the function as follows:
engine.whenReady.then(() => {
const updateModel = () => {
if (AgeScores) {
engine.updateWholeModel(AgeScores);
} };
engine.createJSModel(‘g_AdvancedStartModel’, AgeScores);
AgeScores.updateCallback = updateModel;
});
model-great-works.js
For this file, go to the following directory: modules\base-standard\ui\great-works\model-great-works.js. Open it with Notepad and scroll down to line 252. Here, apply the given changes to the function:
engine.whenReady.then(() => {
const updateModel = () => {
if (GreatWorks) {
engine.updateWholeModel(GreatWorks);
}
//engine.updateWholeModel(GreatWorks);
};
engine.createJSModel(‘g_GreatWorksModel’, GreatWorksModel);
GreatWorks.updateCallback = updateModel;
});
After you are done, save the changes and then launch the game. This workaround comes courtesy of Flimsy_Shift57, a player who has studied the game’s crash logs. So, while you wait for an official fix, you should try this workaround. It can help with the crashing issues, although this isn’t a permanent solution.
Uninstall
If none of the workarounds have been of any help, then uninstalling the game is the only workaround left for you to try. If that fails as well, then contacting support is the wisest choice.
That said, these are the potential fixes that we recommend you try to fix the crashing issues in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII. We hope that you find this guide informative. If you did, consider visiting DigiStatement daily for more such interesting reads on all things gaming.
