Civilization 6 Free Update Announced Along With New Australia Civ DLC

Firaxis has announced today that a new free update and premium DLC pack are on their way to Civilization VI.

The DLC adds a new civilization, Australia, which makes it franchise debut. The nation is led by John Curtin, who was prime minister during the final four years of World War II prior to his death. His unique ability is Citadel of Civilization and it doubles production if someone has declared war on Australia in the last ten turns or if it has liberated a city in the previous 20 turns.

The first look video details other things that set Australia apart in Civilization VI. Its unique ability provides it with bonus housing when a city is built on coastal tile. Campuses, Commercial Hubs, Holy Sites, and Theater Squares all receive extra bonuses when they’re constructed on tiles with Charming or Breathtaking-level appeal.

Its unique tile improvement is the Outback Station, which provides food and production. Adjacent Pastures can be used to improve the yield of Outback Stations, while Pastures can trigger a culture bomb effect when they are first built.

Australia also replaces the standard infantry unit with a unique one called Digger, which receives a combat power buff when fighting outside of Australian territory of on land tiles that are adjacent to water. A price or release date for the DLC has not yet been announced.

In addition, the free update that is on its way adds some new functionality. Steam Workshop support is coming, which will allow you to easily browse and install mods through Steam. The other major change is the ability to play as part of a team in multiplayer, both against AI or other players.

They are described as being, “two of the community’s most-requested features” and they will arrive alongside balance changes and bug fixes, though there were few details shared about this. Firaxis said these range from “trade routes to ice caps, obsolete units to AI upgrades.”

More details will be shared at a “later time.”