Sid Meier's Civilization II is a turn-based strategy game developed and published by MicroProse. It was released for Windows in North America in March 1996, followed by a Mac version on 22 August 1997. Brian Reynolds, Douglas Kaufman and Jeff Briggs designed it, and Reynolds also programmed it. Following the example of Doom, Reynolds built in modding support despite Sid Meier's concerns.
The game grew into a small family of editions. Multiplayer Gold Edition, released on 9 December 1998, bundled both expansions and added multiplayer. Activision published the PlayStation version in 1999, and the same year MicroProse released Civilization II: Test of Time, a reworked edition with a new palette, interface and animated units.
PC Gamer US named Civilization II its overall game of the year, and in 2007 IGN ranked it third among the 100 greatest video games. In 2012 one player's roughly ten-year game, nicknamed "The Eternal War", drew wide attention for its Orwellian world.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Sid Meier's Civilization II | Windows | March 1996 | MicroProse | 1 |
| NA | Sid Meier's Civilization II | Mac | Aug 22, 1997 | MicroProse MacPlay | 1 |
| NA | Civilization II | PlayStation | Jan 4, 1999 | Activision | 1 |
| EU | Sid Meier's Civilization II | Windows | 1996 | MicroProse | 1 |
| WW | Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold EditionBundles both expansions and adds multiplayer; requires Windows 95. | Windows | Dec 9, 1998 | MicroProse | 1 |
| EU | Civilization II | PlayStation | Apr 1, 1999 | Activision | 1 |
| WW | Civilization II: Test of TimeReworked edition with new palette, interface and animated units. | Windows | 1999 | MicroProse | 1 |
Also known as: Civilization II WW1Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition WW1
Box art by region
NA Sid Meier's Civilization II
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentConflicts in Civilization
The Conflicts in Civilization expansion adds 20 scenarios: 12 by the developers and eight by fans.1
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ContentFantastic Worlds
Fantastic Worlds adds scenarios with unusual fantasy-style settings, plus a new scenario editor.1
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GameplayMultiplayer Gold Edition
Multiplayer Gold Edition bundles both expansions and adds multiplayer, but it also introduced a bug that makes AI rulers more hostile towards human players.2
Translations
How to run it today
No current digital store listing could be confirmed, so you need a retail copy: the original, the Sold Out re-release or 2K's Civilization Chronicles. The original 1996 version is 16-bit and will not run on 64-bit Windows without an NTVDM emulator, so the 32-bit Multiplayer Gold Edition or Test of Time is the better choice. Gold Edition needs unofficial community patches to stop crashes when text boxes appear and to keep the game from maxing out the CPU; official patches do not work with the Chronicles versions, which need the unofficial patch installer. Community help is gathered on PCGamingWiki, Civilization Fanatics and Apolyton.
- PCGamingWiki: Sid Meier's Civilization II pcgamingwiki.com
Reception
Civilization II sold 482,522 copies in the US in 1996 and about 3 million worldwide by August 2001. It holds 94% on Metacritic and won Strategy Game of the Year from Computer Gaming World.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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