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Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Sid Meier's Civilization IV®: Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV - the 2005 PC Game of the Year that has become a worldwide hit.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Data as of 2026-05-20.
“This game (and this particular expansion) is the pinnacle of the classic, square-tile based civ games. The amount of customization in civilizations, leaders, civics, and victory types affords every game a sense of uniqueness. This game still shines even after being "obsoleted"…”
— a player, Steam review · 494 hrs played“Sometimes new isn't better. This game is turn based so it's pretty relaxing to play. But the depth of it is seemly endless. Strategic fun while learning about history. My favorite game of all time. I feel civ 5 doesn't compare either.”
— a player, Steam review · 3,648 hrs played“More difficult than "vanilla" Civ IV, Beyond the Sword is a great expansion pack for people who enjoy Civ IV but find themselves wanting more. In "vanilla" Civ IV, espionage is very limited. For example, I mostly use spies in vanilla Civ IV to scout enemy territory and evade…”
— a player, Steam review · 33 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-07-11 11:46 UTC · history via SteamCharts.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-07-24). Relative comparison only.
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From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-20.
| Genres | Strategy |
| Player tags | Strategy · Turn-Based Strategy · 4X · Turn-Based · Historical · Singleplayer · Multiplayer · Moddable · Grand Strategy · Classic · Masterpiece · Replay Value (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain |
| Estimated owners | 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 (SteamSpy) |
| Official site | http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/beyondthesword/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Windows 2000 (plus Service Pack 1 or higher), Windows XP Home or Professional (plus Service Pack 1 or higher), or Windows Vista; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor, 256 MB RAM, 64 MB video card with hardware T&L (GeForce 2, Radeon 7500 or better), DirectX 7 compatible sound card, 1.7 GB of free hard drive space, DirectX 9.0c (included) Recommended: 1.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent (or better), 512 MB RAM, 128 MB video card with DirectX 8 support (pixel and vertex shaders), DirectX 7 compatible sound card, 1.7 GB of free hard drive space, DirectX