Civ VII will launch like all mainline Civ games: barebones. It will have 18-20 leaders, no World Congress, and no environmental disasters at launch. Those will come in $40 expansions two years later.
This expansion introduced Dynamic Eras. Cities now have Loyalty; let it drop to zero, and a free city spawns, potentially flipping to a rival civ. It also added Governors (recruitable characters like Magnus the Steward or Amani the Diplomat) and Golden/Dark Ages. Choosing a Dedication during a Golden Age changes your victory path entirely. Without this, the map feels static. sid meiers civilization vi anthology v101268 exclusive