Sid Meier's Civilization 6 is the latest mainline entry in the Civilization series and is still very much played by fans. Even more fans have been able to play as of recently due to it currently being on sale for Steam's Summer Sale and it being free on the Epic Games Store back in May of this year.
With the New Frontier Pass for Civilization 6 offering players even more official content to their games, there are some implications that are left for the future of Civilization.
There are currently six planned packs to be included in the New Frontier Pass with the Maya & Gran Columbia pack already released. These packs will have releases up until the sixth pack's release in March of 2021.
What This Means For Civilization 6
Many of the Civilization games continue to have loyal player bases after sequels have already come out. However, Civilization 6 has a very active community within itself, especially with this New Frontier Pass.
While most Civilization games receive expansions of some kind before moving on to a sequel, there is no telling if there will be other passes available for Civilization 6 players after the New Frontier Pass. If there will be more passes, this means that updates for Civilization 6 will be for quite a while.
Since the New Frontier Pass will be finishing up in March of 2021, it could be possible for a new pass to be announced in the spring or summer of 2021. After all, a new Fighter Pass for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate was announced after the completion of the first one. New passes have the potential to increase the life of a game.
Now, a lot of the content to be included in the New Frontier Pass is currently unknown to fans and players alike. This makes the idea of another pass coming afterward pure speculation, but still a possibility. There is also the possibility of a new expansion after the New Frontier Pass, but that seems even more unlikely.
Life Span of Civilization 6
Something important to note with the New Frontier Pass is that it means that Civilization 6 is planned on having a very high active life span. This could additionally mean that Civilization 7 is incredibly far off and likely could only be in pre-production or not in production at all at this time.
Even without considering Civilization 7 as a factor, the New Frontier Pass shows that Civilization 6 is here to stay for a long time with updates and DLC. The exact lifespan can't be calculated, but considering that Civilization 6 was originally released back in 2016, the developers do intend for the player-base to stay active into and possibly past the year 2021.
The temporary free availability on the Epic Games store could also be a method to get more players in to buy the New Frontier Pass as well as previous expansions that wouldn't have played Civilization 6 otherwise. The large amount of new players that came while the game was free definitely increased the player base in a way that will increase the game's overall life span.
Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.