The series has enough entries that "which one is this" is a fair question on its own.

Short answer

It is a distinct entry rather than a re-release: different systems, different balance, and largely a different audience.

  • Do not assume mechanics carried over from the last one.
  • Check which entry a guide is written for before following it.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.

Each Civilization entry reshuffles the rules enough that habits from the last one quietly stop working. Player populations differ hugely between entries, and that matters for anything multiplayer. Cross-entry knowledge transfers at the level of instincts, not specifics.

Where it sits in the series

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. The community's favourite entry is rarely the newest one. Ports and re-releases sometimes carry balance changes that are easy to miss. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Some entries were fixed by later patches into something quite different from their launch state. Starting with the newest is usually right, and there are two or three well-known exceptions. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

How it holds up now

Series entries diverge more than their shared name suggests. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different.

  • Newer is not automatically the right starting point.
  • Expect the first months after release to be patch-heavy.
  • Stop and reassess after two failed attempts rather than repeating the third.
  • Look at current player numbers if you care about multiplayer.

Who it suits

The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

What changed from the previous entry

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first.

Whether to start here

Civilization is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Where people go wrong

  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.

Civ FAQ

How long does this take?

Minutes if it goes cleanly, an evening if you hit the edge case in the caveats list. Neither is unusual.

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Is this still accurate after the latest Civilization update?

The method is; individual numbers may not be. If a value on your screen differs, trust the screen and keep the sequence.

Is it still active?

Population varies a lot between entries. Where it matters, check current numbers rather than trusting an old thread.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.