Complete Edition and Where to Buy

The Civilization 4 Complete Edition (the base game, Warlords, Beyond the Sword and Colonization) costs $29.99 on Steam as package 4323 and is sold DRM-free for Windows on GOG, as of Oct 21, 2026; it was 80% off on Steam from Sep 3 to 17, 2026. On Steam the parts also sell alone: the base game $19.99, Warlords $4.99, Beyond the Sword $9.99 and Colonization $19.99.

The Civilization 4 Complete Edition, with the base game, Warlords, Beyond the Sword and Colonization, costs $29.99 on Steam as package 4323 and is sold DRM-free for Windows on GOG, as of Oct 21, 2026. Bought one by one on Steam the four cost $54.96: the base game $19.99, Warlords $4.99, Beyond the Sword $9.99 and Colonization $19.99. It goes on deep sale: Steam's Civilization 35th Anniversary Franchise Sale took 80% off from Sep 3 to 17, 2026, and GOG's page showed the same 80% off, $5.99 in the US, on Oct 4, 2026. For most players the Complete Edition, or the base game plus Beyond the Sword, is the version to buy.

Quick facts

Buy	Steam (Complete Edition), GOG
Steam price	$29.99 (Oct 21, 2026)
Contents	Civilization 4, Warlords, Beyond the Sword, Colonization
Steam package	4323 (apps 3900, 3990, 8800, 16810)
GOG	DRM-free, Windows only; $5.99 at 80% off on Oct 4, 2026
Last Steam sale	80% off, Sep 3 to 17, 2026
Retail release	May 12, 2009, $39.99, DRM-free
Platforms on Steam	Windows and Mac (Steam); Mac online play no longer supported
Not sold on	Mac App Store, Epic Games Store (none found Oct 21, 2026)

What is in the Complete Edition

The Complete Edition holds everything Firaxis made for Civilization 4. Civilization 4 is the base game of Oct 25, 2005; Warlords (2006) and Beyond the Sword (2007) are expansions that run on top of it; Colonization (2008) is a separate game built on the same engine. On Steam the expansions are listed as games of their own, not DLC, and each installs and launches separately. Beyond the Sword already includes Warlords' rules, so with both installed you play Beyond the Sword and use Warlords for its scenarios.

Steam prices

Steam sells the Complete Edition and all four parts. Prices are in US dollars as read on Oct 21, 2026:

Steam item	What it is	Price	Steam reviews	Players at 17:45 UTC, Oct 21, 2026
Package 4323	The Complete Edition (all four below)	$29.99
App 3900	Sid Meier's Civilization IV, the base game	$19.99	Very Positive, 92% of 1,956	696
App 3990	Warlords (needs the base game)	$4.99	Very Positive, 90% of 407	172
App 8800	Beyond the Sword (needs the base game)	$9.99	Overwhelmingly Positive, 96% of 2,898	1,695
App 16810	Colonization (standalone)	$19.99	Very Positive, 87% of 1,292	355

Source: the Steam store pages linked in the table, read Oct 21, 2026 (review counts are English reviews), and Steam's GetNumberOfCurrentPlayers.

Steam app 3980, sometimes mistaken for Warlords, is a different game, CivCity: Rome (Steam). Steam's base game page carries the original requirements, Windows 2000 or XP, a 1.2GHz processor and 256MB of RAM, and is tagged for Family Sharing.

GOG

GOG sells "Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition" DRM-free, for Windows only, with the same four games. In the copy of its page saved on Oct 4, 2026 it was 80% off at $5.99 in the US and €3.99 in Germany, rated 4.6 out of 5 from 713 ratings, with the tech tree, the manuals and a Beyond the Sword reference guide as extras. GOG lists single-player as the game's only feature, so for online games buy on Steam. GOG's own site was down for maintenance when this page was checked on Oct 21, 2026, so its current price is not confirmed here. In Sep 2025 Amazon Prime members could claim the Complete Edition free as a GOG code (Kotaku).

Other stores and bundles

2K's own store sells the Complete Edition too, listing its "WorldBuilder editor, XML and Python scripting language editing and the Civilization IV Software Developers Kit (SDK)" (2K Store). Humble's "The Sid Meier Collection" bundled the Complete Editions of Civ 4, Civilization 5 and Civilization 6 in Feb 2026, per PC Gamer. No Civ 4 listing was found on the Epic Games Store on Oct 21, 2026, and Apple's store search on Oct 21, 2026 returned Aspyr's Civilization 5, Civilization 6 and Beyond Earth but no Civ 4.

Mac

Steam lists the Complete Edition for Mac, but the Mac versions are a legacy. Aspyr ported each game to the Mac between 2006 and 2009, and Civ 4 and Colonization were once on the Mac App Store, where Aspyr cut both to $5 in Feb 2012. On Jun 17, 2019, before macOS Catalina dropped 32-bit apps, Aspyr stopped selling its 32-bit Mac games, Civ 4 among them. Steam's page says the Mac version's online multiplayer is no longer supported, and the Mac listings never received the Steamworks update (2K Support). Whether the Mac builds run on current macOS is not confirmed by Aspyr or 2K. See Running Civilization 4 Today.

The 2009 retail Complete Edition

The Complete Edition began as a boxed Windows release on May 12, 2009 at $39.99, rated E10+ and "entirely DRM-free", per 2K's announcement. It reached No. 19 on NPD's US PC chart in September 2009. Disc owners could ask 2K support for the 2014 Steamworks multiplayer update (Steam).

The Gold Edition

Before the Complete Edition came the Gold Edition, Civ 4 and Warlords together. The Windows Gold Edition added a behind-the-scenes DVD and two posters, one of them the tech tree, and shipped on Jul 17, 2007, just before Beyond the Sword. Aspyr's Mac Gold Edition followed for $50 in March 2009. It is no longer sold; the Complete Edition replaces it.

Which version should you buy?

Buy the Complete Edition unless you know you want less. It costs $29.99, against $54.96 for the parts, and it includes Beyond the Sword, the version most Steam players run (1,695 players on Oct 21, 2026) and the one most mods need, patched to 3.19. If you only want Civ 4 itself, the base game plus Beyond the Sword cost $29.98 on Steam, the same as the Complete Edition, which adds Warlords' scenarios and Colonization. Colonization plays nothing like Civ 4 and also sells alone. For online games buy on Steam, where multiplayer runs through Steamworks; GOG's edition lists single-player only. See Multiplayer.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Civ 4 Complete Edition? The Civilization 4 Complete Edition costs $29.99 on Steam as of Oct 21, 2026, and it has dropped to 80% off in sales, as it did from Sep 3 to 17, 2026.

What is included in Civilization 4 Complete Edition? The Civilization 4 Complete Edition includes the base game, Warlords, Beyond the Sword and Colonization, the four Steam apps 3900, 3990, 8800 and 16810.

Is Civ 4 on GOG? Yes: GOG sells the Civilization 4 Complete Edition DRM-free for Windows only, and its page showed it at $5.99 during an 80% sale on Oct 4, 2026.

Should I buy Civ 4 on Steam or GOG? Buy Civilization 4 on Steam if you want online multiplayer, which runs through Steamworks since 2014; GOG's DRM-free Windows edition lists single-player only.

What is the Civ 4 Gold Edition? The Civilization 4 Gold Edition bundled the base game and Warlords, with a DVD and two posters on Windows from Jul 17, 2007; the Complete Edition, which adds Beyond the Sword and Colonization, replaced it.

Can you buy Civ 4 on Mac? Steam still sells the Civilization 4 Complete Edition with Mac support, but Aspyr stopped selling its Mac versions on Jun 17, 2019, it is not on the Mac App Store, and Steam says Mac online play is no longer supported.

Does the Complete Edition run on Steam Deck? SteamDeckHQ listed the Civilization 4 Complete Edition as "Playable" on Steam Deck in Nov 2024; Valve's own rating is not confirmed here.