The Game Census
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword cover art

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

Firaxis Games · 2K · 2007-07-24

Steam

Strategy

Franchise: Sid Meier · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer

Releases: Jul 27, 2009 (Mac), Jul 18, 2007 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

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.

2,259
playing now
96%
positive of 5.1k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam rating
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
83/100
critic score (2 outlets, IGDB)
85/100
IGDB user rating (49 ratings)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$9.99
steam price (US)

2,259 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 18:00 UTC (census sample)

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack of the turn-based strategy video game Civilization IV. The expansion focuses on adding content to the in-game time periods following the invention of gunpowder, and includes more general content such as 11 new scenarios, 10 new civilizations, and 16 new leaders.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 2,259 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 227 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~28/week).
  • · Review velocity up 8% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 12% of 5,944 Strategy games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 203k–405k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 5,066 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $1.19 at MacGameStore (2024-11-24)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 8 of 19 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
10010020182026Week of 2018-01-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 100 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 83 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

2.3k9862026-08-06 22:00 — 1,627 players2026-08-07 06:00 — 1,010 players2026-08-07 14:00 — 1,531 players2026-08-07 22:00 — 1,681 players2026-08-08 06:00 — 1,166 players2026-08-08 14:00 — 1,727 players2026-08-08 22:00 — 1,837 players2026-08-09 06:00 — 1,215 players2026-08-09 14:00 — 1,817 players2026-08-09 22:00 — 1,826 players2026-08-10 06:00 — 993 players2026-08-10 14:00 — 1,542 players2026-08-10 22:00 — 1,553 players2026-08-11 06:00 — 994 players2026-08-11 14:00 — 1,514 players2026-08-12 22:00 — 1,549 players2026-08-14 05:00 — 1,037 players2026-08-15 13:00 — 1,715 players2026-08-16 21:00 — 1,968 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 1,055 players2026-08-19 12:00 — 1,285 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 1,838 players2026-08-22 03:00 — 1,348 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 1,560 players2026-08-24 18:00 — 1,816 players2026-08-26 02:00 — 1,320 players2026-08-27 10:00 — 1,211 players2026-08-28 18:00 — 1,813 players2026-08-30 02:00 — 1,457 players2026-08-30 18:00 — 2,259 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$29.99$1.192015-01-012026-08-072015-01-01 — best price $2.492015-03-05 — best price $5.702015-04-23 — best price $9.002015-06-17 — best price $6.622015-07-21 — best price $2.492015-08-31 — best price $9.992015-11-25 — best price $2.492016-01-19 — best price $9.492016-02-04 — best price $9.492016-03-03 — best price $2.502016-05-17 — best price $9.992016-08-22 — best price $7.852016-11-21 — best price $2.492017-03-16 — best price $2.492017-07-17 — best price $9.992017-10-17 — best price $2.492018-01-22 — best price $9.992018-05-06 — best price $9.992018-08-06 — best price $1.562018-12-03 — best price $2.502019-04-18 — best price $2.502019-07-08 — best price $2.492019-11-01 — best price $9.992020-01-24 — best price $2.492020-04-03 — best price $2.492021-03-18 — best price $2.492021-09-10 — best price $1.992022-03-02 — best price $9.792023-01-13 — best price $9.042024-04-08 — best price $9.632024-11-22 — best price $2.492025-05-12 — best price $6.992026-01-06 — best price $9.992026-08-07 — best price $9.32
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

44122026-06-01 — 20 pageviews2026-06-04 — 16 pageviews2026-06-07 — 17 pageviews2026-06-10 — 24 pageviews2026-06-13 — 18 pageviews2026-06-16 — 21 pageviews2026-06-19 — 17 pageviews2026-06-22 — 38 pageviews2026-06-25 — 28 pageviews2026-06-28 — 44 pageviews2026-07-01 — 28 pageviews2026-07-04 — 39 pageviews2026-07-07 — 20 pageviews2026-07-10 — 25 pageviews2026-07-13 — 31 pageviews2026-07-16 — 21 pageviews2026-07-19 — 26 pageviews2026-07-22 — 25 pageviews2026-07-25 — 31 pageviews2026-07-28 — 27 pageviews2026-07-31 — 25 pageviews2026-08-03 — 17 pageviews2026-08-06 — 23 pageviews2026-08-09 — 39 pageviews2026-08-12 — 20 pageviews2026-08-15 — 23 pageviews2026-08-18 — 20 pageviews2026-08-21 — 20 pageviews2026-08-24 — 27 pageviews2026-08-27 — 18 pageviews2026-08-29 — 25 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsmacOSSingle-playerFamily Sharing

5 supported languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain

Player tags

4XClassicModdableStrategyEducationHistoricalManagementSimulationTurn-BasedMultiplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Sid Meier's Civilization® IVKnights of HonorStronghold 2: Steam EditionCrusader Kings IIEuropa Universalis IVENDLESS Legend™HearthlandsAnno 1800

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗