Out of nowhere, Civ VI is getting a season pass

‘New Frontier Pass’

Civilization VI has been slowly trucking along since its late 2016 release on PC, adding platforms and updates here and there. In 2017 it hit mobile devices, in 2018 it arrived on Switch and in 2019, it hit PS4/Xbox One. That’s not normally the order of operations, but Firaxis and 2K are trying some different approaches here.

That includes this brand new, outta nowhere season pass, called the “New Frontier Pass.” Distilled, it’ll add six new modes, nine leaders “and more” through six DLC packs on a “bi-monthly basis,” starting with May 21, 2020 and running all the way through March 2021. It’ll run you $39.99 (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch are all confirmed, with mobile coming “at a later date”), and thankfully items in the pass can be purchased piecemeal; but if you buy the pass, it’ll come with the “Teddy Roosevelt and Catherine De Medici Persona Packs.”

2K also shared some details for the first pack arriving on May 21. It’s the Maya and Gran Colombia pack, which also bundles in an “apocalypse mode,” as well as new resources, wonders and city-states. Leader confirmation is coming later. According to Firaxis, free updates will arrive in the months that the paid DLC doesn’t: so expect one next month.

Given how packed Civ already was, DLC through early 2021 is a big surprise. Hopefully it’ll all measure up, but the first pack, which has the aforementioned extra mode, seems fairly meaty.