2K Games today announced that Civilization: Beyond Earth, the next entry in the popular Civilization strategy game franchise, is coming to the Mac alongside releases Windows and Linux this fall.


Set in a science-fiction-themed future, the game will allow players to select one of eight different expedition sponsors that are looking to colonize alien planets in order to establish a new civilization. Similar to previous titles in the series, gameplay will center around building large armies and structures as well as researching advanced technologies. Civilization: Beyond Earth also features an enhanced quest system, unit customization, and support for up to 8 players in multiplayer.

As part of an expedition sent to find a home beyond Earth, you will write the next chapter for humanity as you lead your people into a new frontier and create a new civilization in space. Explore and colonize an alien planet, research new technologies, amass mighty armies, build incredible Wonders and shape the face of your new world. As you embark on your journey you must make critical decisions. From your choice of sponsor and the make-up of your colony, to the ultimate path you choose for your civilization, every decision opens up new possibilities.

The past two titles in the series, Civilization V and Civilization IV, were also released for Mac in 2010 and 2006, respectively. Those titles were developed with the help of Aspyr, which has published multiple major gaming titles for the Mac, including Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and SimCity 4. Currently, it is unknown whether Aspyr will help develop Civilization: Beyond Earth for Mac or if the series’ original developer, Firaxis Games will work on the port.

- Civilization IV can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, Aspyr’s GameAgent digital store, and Steam for $19.99.
- Civilization V can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, Aspyr’s GameAgent digital store, and Steam for $29.99.

Top Rated Comments

Cougarcat Avatar
146 months ago
Wait a second, alongside Linux???

That's a first...

I expect we'll be seeing this even more when SteamOS is officially launched.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cougarcat Avatar
146 months ago
I've been waiting for this for years. I've always loved Alpha Centauri more than Civ. This is essentially AC without the lore, as EA owns the rights to AC.

I hope Firaxis is doing the port themselves, as it would probably mean we'd get patches on all platforms released at the same time. Aspyr does a fine job, but I hate booting into Windows to play with PC friends when versions are out of sync.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brainkilla Avatar
146 months ago
Every single Feral interactive games uses Mac unique features, and a lot of Aspyr games do as well, including Civ5. The Mac App Store version uses in app purchases, and all versions use quicktime APIs for video playback and unique NS objective C calls, like calls to Grand Central Dispatch for better threading.
Well, game like this is probably developed upon a common OpenGL foundation, and then tweaked a bit for every platform. That's not necessarily bad, but it might not offer all bells and whistles Mac as a platform can offer; still, it will be most probably much better than any s*itty Cider ports other companies charge an arm and a leg for.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pakaku Avatar
146 months ago
I fear that it'll be some "general, run on all systems" code, not optimized for any platform, not using the features that are unique to the Mac.
Is there a list of games that do use Mac features? I mostly stick to Steam for my games...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
casperes1996 Avatar
146 months ago
It literally just got announced

Been searching around, but no luck at System Requirements for this. Did I miss them?

It just got announced, no system requirements have been announced yet, and they likely won't be for a while. Expect it to be a tad higher than Civ5, but not much. Runs on the same engine as Civ5.

----------

Well, game like this is probably developed upon a common OpenGL foundation, and then tweaked a bit for every platform. That's not necessarily bad, but it might not offer all bells and whistles Mac as a platform can offer; still, it will be most probably much better than any s*itty Cider ports other companies charge an arm and a leg for.

And Cider isn't even the worst. I bought The Witcher on Steam, the CD Project Red game, and I more than cleared the system requirements, but the game lagged like crazy. Turns out they ran it trough Wine, and never even bothered to check how ****** Wine stuff runs. Installed Windows on bootcamp just to make it worth it, and then I could run it all maxed out no problem... Yes, Wine is that terrible when it comes to games. (Still love you Wine)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arcite Avatar
146 months ago
I convene the Planetary Concil.
Agenda:
Elect Planetary Governor

Image (http://picload.org/image/locippr/smac.png)

Vote for me or else!
Please excuse me while I use my next turn to deploy planet busters to each capital city on Planet. :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...