The world of Civilization is always updating and changing, and so are the drivers for your video card! If you're having trouble loading up Civilization VII, one of the first places to start your troubleshooting is checking to be sure you've got the most current set for your GPU.
How to know what graphics card (GPU) you have?
The easiest way to find your GPU and the date of the drivers you have installed is the DXDiag:
- Go to Start > 'Windows System' folder > Run
- Type 'dxdiag' (without quotes) in the 'Open' field and press the OK button
- Wait for 'green' progress bar to finish loading
- Go to the Display tab
On this tab you'll see the name of your card on the left side in the Device box. On the right side, there will be a box for Drivers, and the date your currently installed one was released. If this date is more than a month or two old, you probably need to download the new ones.
Now we go compare that to the latest drivers for your card with your GPU manufacturer!
Where to find your drivers for AMD cards?
On the AMD Drivers site you can download the Auto-Detect and Install Driver Updates or search for your specific card.
If you search your card, you'll be brought to a page that lets you choose your Operating System. Clicking the arrow on the right side will let you see the release date of the latest driver for your GPU and OS - if that date is newer than the one in your DXDiag, it's time to update!
If your driver's version is earlier than 25.2.1 (24.20.33.05), you'll definitely need to update for Civilization VII.
AMD's Auto-Detect and Install options may not be bringing you to the drivers designed to work best with Civilization VII, in which case you'll want to access https://www.amd.com/en/resources/support-articles/release-notes/RN-RAD-WIN-25-2-1.html and manually update your drivers.
Where to find your drivers for Nvidia cards?
On the Nvidia Drivers site you can download the NVIDIA App to get automatic driver updates or search for your specific card.
If you search your card it will also ask for details like your Operating System, then you'll be brought to a page for your GPU and OS with a release date for the latest driver - if that date is newer than the one in your DXDiag, it's time to update!
If your driver's version is earlier than 572.42, you'll definitely need to update for Civilization VII.
Where to find your drivers for Intel cards?
On the Intel Drivers site you can download the tool to identify your Intel hardware and get driver updates or search for your specific card.
If you search your card, you'll be brought to a page that lets you see the ID, Date, and Version for the latest drivers for your GPU - if that date is newer than the one in your DXDiag, it's time to update!
If your driver's version is earlier than 101.6559/101.6262, you'll definitely need to update for Civilization VII.