Sid Meier seemed baffled at the decision to launch Civilization 5 sans Genghis Khan. 'Sid asked, What?'

Sid Meier was not in town when I visited Firaxis earlier this month to play Civilization 7, but I walked past the office where he continues to guide the strategy designer. Ghengis was one of the results of this guidance, which came 14 years ago.

Dennis Shirk, Civ 7 executive producers, said in a recent GameRant interview that they shipped Civ 5 without Genghis. "Sid said, 'What?' We released Genghis Khan in a free upgrade the following month because he was correct. We shouldn't had shipped without Genghis, so there will always be that collection, or foundation."

The topic was brought up in relation to Civ 7 leaders. We haven't seen the complete list yet, but we know it won't just be heads of state. Benjamin Franklin, for instance, is a leader.

We know that Mongolia is in Civilization 7 so it's a given ol’ Genghis made the grade. Sid probably didn't notice that Genghis wasn't a leader until the Rise and Fall expansion in Civ 6. Gandhi is probably Civ's most well-known leader. There's a statue of Gandhi in the Firaxis offices, so I assume that he will be there too. I'm digressing, but the computer from the '90s that Sid Meier developed Civilization 1 30 years ago still sits in the office.

Firaxis can't include every favorite Civ leader because I'm sure that each of them has a fan. But meeting the expectations of fans is on the collective mind of the studios.

Shirk said that there will always be a section for fans in every game. These are the leaders who were so popular and important to our fans in the past. "If they don’t get to play as X they will be upset."

The Shirk added that the Civ 7 Team is searching for "obscure industrial and cultural" leaders. Carl Harrison, the game designer, said that it is not only about adding unknown figures but also historical figures that are well-known and have just never been in a previous Civ.

The new Civ's launch roster is always a big deal. (Well, I can't remember our reaction to Civ 5 so I'm assuming that we cared about Civ 4). But this time around the roster was overshadowed because of some major changes in how we will select leaders. You can now choose to play as Egypt's Hatshepsut in Rome, even though she was born 1,400 years earlier than the Roman Empire. Second, when you switch from one age to another--there are 3 ages: Antiquity (the oldest), Exploration (the second oldest), and Modern-you will choose a new civilization, one at its peak during the age. You might control Rome in Antiquity and Mongolia during the Exploration era.

My hands-on preview contains more information on Civ 7 and its new structure. It will be released early next year on February 11, 2019. Kublai Khan, whether or not Genghis makes the cut, is what I'm hoping for. I wrote a report about him in sixth grade, and then I read a poem about him at some point. It really stuck with me. I want to decree an elegant pleasure-dome.