Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
BANGER · Strategy · 2007
Steam Deck UnsupportedThe verdict
BUY IT.
A BANGER at $9.99.
- Cost per hourS
- $0.32/hr
- ReviewsS
- 96% of 5,121
- Critics
- 86 players 10 higher
- Genre rank
- Top 1% Strategy
Watch this gameOne alert when it goes on sale.
Time and effort
- Main story
- 30.9h
- To 100%
- 100.4h 3.2x the story
Price and sales
- Sales
- 40 on record
- Typical cut
- 75% off
- Steam low
- $2.49 January 2013
- Sale every
- 75d last June 2026
Players and genre
- Online
- 1,722 now
- Cheaper than
- 29% of its genre
- Better reviewed
- 99% of its genre
Price and player charts
The value story
The value story
The lowest price on record is $2.49, set in January 2013. Across all 40 discounts in the 14 years tracked, the median cut is 75 percent, about 11 weeks apart.
Its score sits in the top 1 percent of its genre. It is pricier than 71 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 99 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Sid Meier's Civilization® V ($7.49, scores 97) beats it on value, while it beats Sid Meier's Civilization® IV ($3.99, scores 87).
On this data it would still be a BANGER at $41.68.
More about Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Critics scored it 86. Players sit 10 points higher at 96 percent, which usually means a game that plays better than it reviews.
This site sampled 380 of its Steam-purchase reviews; 1 was written by a buyer who refunded it, sampled from reviews written April 2020 to October 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 81 percent of the 124 reviews written there were positive, against 96 percent overall, and those are 3 percent of everything written about it.
Finishing takes 30.9 hours; clearing it takes 100, which is 3.2 times the campaign.
Buy now or wait
Buy now or wait
Discounted in 2 of its last 8 seasonal sales.
- Next sale
- Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
Grades: S best, D weakest
S is the best grade and D the weakest, judged as a buyer. ▲ raises the score, ▼ lowers it, ? is an input we do not have, • is a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
What players say
Great game. My favorite Civ game of all time and I think it still holds up. But for God's sake, why did they remove Baba Yetu as the menu song from the Beyond the Sword expansion pack...
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
About the game
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.
Minimum specs
Runs on Windows, macOS.
No data upstream: achievement curve (Steam global achievements).
Cite this score
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword scores 96/100 on the BANG Score (a BANGER) as of Nov 8, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/8800/civilization-iv-beyond-the-swordReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Oct 31, price as of Nov 7. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.