Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth vs Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a simulation strategy game from Firaxis Games (2014) while Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is a simulation strategy game from Firaxis Games (2008).
What each one is
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is filed under Simulation and Strategy. In contrast, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization under Simulation and Strategy.
Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth is a new science-fiction-themed entry into the award winning Civilization series. As part of an expedition sent to find a home beyond Earth, lead your people into a new frontier, explore and colonize an alien planet and create a new civilization in space.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is the third offering in the award winning Civilization IV series. A re-imagining of the classic Colonization game Sid Meier created in 1994, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is a total conversion of the Civilization IV engine into a game experience in which players will lead a European...
Story, characters and reception
Reception
Reception Civilization: Beyond Earth received positive reviews. It received an aggregated score of 80% on GameRankings based on 52 reviews and 81/100 on Metacritic based on 78 reviews. During the 18th Annual D. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The single victory condition – declaring and winning a war for independence – has been both criticized and accepted by reviewers. Another criticism of the game is that it only has four playable colonial powers. The exclusion of Europe's other prominent colonial powers has been called a "limiting" factor in the game. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth | Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.3/10 | 7.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (61%, 23,140) | Very Positive (87%, 1,574) |
| Critic aggregate | 81/100 | 83/100 |
| Price | $39.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 8 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | playable |
| Released | 2014 | 2008 |
| Developer | Firaxis Games | Firaxis Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth vs Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthSimulation strategy gameSid Meier's Civilization IV: ColonizationSimulation strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthStrategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Sci-fiSid Meier's Civilization IV: ColonizationStrategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-BasedThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthScore 6.3 · 61% on Steam · 81 criticSid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization ✓Score 7.2 · 87% on Steam · 83 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth23,140 reviews · 2 add-ons · 8 GBSid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization1,574 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth$39.99Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization ✓$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthUnsupportedSid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization ✓PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth and Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization (GamingPickz Score 7.2)
- The cheaper right now: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization (playable)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (23,140 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
StrategyTurn-Based Strategy4XTurn-BasedMultiplayerSingleplayerGrand StrategyModdable
Where they differ
Sci-fiSpaceFuturisticAliensHex GridTactical
HistoricalEconomyManagementRemakeCity BuilderColony Sim
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth and 0 for Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth and Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization in scope?
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth has drawn 23,140 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 8 GB. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization has drawn 1,574 Steam reviews.
Is Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth or Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization rates higher (7.2 to 6.3). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth or Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization?
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $39.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.