Civilization 7 Launch Missing City Renaming Feature

Although Sid Meier's Civilization 7 follows the franchise tradition of representing real-world cultures and cities, the series has never stuck completely to the script. Renaming cities is a staple feature that goes against that grain. While it's enjoyable to have settlements that reflect historical locations, it can also be fun to get creative. This is especially true during conquests, as renaming cities can represent assimilation or simply annoy a friend in multiplayer.

In some franchise entries, like Civ 4, founding a city provides an immediate prompt to choose a custom name. However, others make the option a little more subtle. When starting a game of Civ 7, the lack of an obvious method to rename cities or towns can make it unclear whether the feature is missing or simply hidden.

Civ 7 Doesn't Let You Rename Cities At Launch

A Basic Feature Is Unfortunately Missing

As of the release version of Civ 7, there is currently no feature that allows players to rename their cities or towns in-game. This isn't the only thing that has been cut from the new title, but it might be one of the most frustrating, as it seems like a fairly simple inclusion rather than something that could be hard to incorporate into the game design. That being said, it's likely that the situation won't remain the same forever.

Civ 7 Might Add City Renaming In The Future

Civ 6 Already Set A Precedent

In the long run, it's unlikely that the option to rename cities won't return. Civ 6 also lacked the feature at release and added it in a later update, so there is certainly precedent for a Civ 7 post-launch addition. It's possible that the addition was sidelined while working on fixes for core mechanics and other fundamentals, especially if any problems arose during its implementation. Nonetheless, it's disappointing for the Civ series to be missing such a classic feature at launch again, especially with deluxe editions and DLC plans already in place.

If Civ 7 does eventually add the ability to rename cities, it should presumably be accessible through the settlement interface that pops up when clicking on the name of a city or town. This time around, it could be an enjoyable way to tweak the names of cities as they evolve through different civilizations across the Ages. Until that day comes, however, Sid Meier's Civilization 7 sadly demands that the given name of a city is the one that stays throughout the course of a game, no matter how many hands it may pass through.