Civilization VII reveals Jose Rizal as a playable Leader – the first Filipino character in the series
Civilization finally has a playable Filipino character!
Firaxis Games unveiled another new Leader in Civilization VII, and it’s none other than Jose Rizal, one of the Philippines’ most well-known national heroes.
This is a big deal for many Filipino Civ fans. After all, Jose Rizal being part of the Civilization VII roster makes him the first Filipino playable character in the franchise. Interestingly though, there won’t be a Filipino Civilization to play as. That’s because Civ 7 lets players choose a Leader separately from a Civilization. As such, players will be able to play as Rizal, albeit with various Civilizations from different points of history.
Rizal was revealed via a new First Look which gives us a rundown of his playstyle and unique traits. You can watch the First Look video here:
As the video reveals, Rizal will specialize in Culture and Diplomacy, meaning he should be a great match for players who want to go for a Culture victory.
To be exact, he gains an additional 20 Culture and Gold per Age when gaining rewards from a Narrative Event. These Narrative Event bonuses fit well with Rizal given that he’s best known for his writings which were foundational in the Philippine independence movement.
Aside from these bonuses, Rizal also gets additional Narrative Events, as well as +50% Celebration duration and +50% Happiness towards Celebrations.
Given these, Rizal should be the perfect pick for players who want a more narrative-driven experience that focuses on Culture instead of Domination. Again, this is the perfect match as Rizal became a national hero through words.
While Rizal is the first Filipino character in the series, this is not the first time that the Philippines has been represented. Back in Civilization V, Manila was a maritime city-state that was introduced in the Gods & Kings expansion.
Civilization VII will be released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and macOS on February 11, 2025.
While we’re still working on our review of the game (which we’ll share on February 3), you can read about our recent Civ 7 hands-on here.