For over two decades, the Tropico series has offered players the chance to slip into the polished boots of El Presidente and run their own island paradise – or dictatorship, depending on how you look at it. With Tropico 6 now more than six years old and expanded through a steady flow of DLC, the time feels right for a new chapter. Tropico 7, developed this time by Gaming Minds Studios and published by Kalypso Media, looks set to bring both new systems and a fresh coat of paint to the beloved formula, while still delivering the satirical charm the series is known for.
What we know
At its core, Tropico 7 remains a city-builder with a political twist, where you oversee an island nation across campaign missions, sandbox maps, and procedurally generated islands. The campaign includes five maps featuring familiar faces like El Presidente and his ever-loyal Penultimo, alongside a new adversary in the form of Victoria Guerra, who promises to shake up the political landscape.
Several major new features stand out. The most striking addition is terraforming, which lets players literally reshape the landscape by flattening mountains, creating beaches, or even forging entire new islands. The military system is also being reworked, giving you more direct control over units to deal with rebels or foreign invasions. On the political side, the new council mechanic brings factions to the table more directly, forcing players to manage competing interests through negotiation or manipulation. Alongside these changes, Tropico 7 introduces larger archipelagos than ever before, more scenarios, and an expanded suite of customization options for both your palace and El Presidente himself. The game is heading to PC, with console versions expected as well.
What we saw
We attended a hands-off demo with Kalypso and Gaming Minds Studios at Gamescom, where the team showcased several of the new features in action. The presentation highlighted terraforming, the updated military controls, and the council system, while also giving a look at the technical improvements under the hood.
What we thought
One of the most encouraging signs is the switch in developers. Gaming Minds has experience with terrain management in series like Railway Empire, and that background seems to pay off here. The terraforming system, in particular, looks like it could be a game-changer for how you design and expand your island nation. It adds another layer of creativity and strategy, and it could be the feature that helps differentiate Tropico 7 from its predecessors after so many years of incremental updates.
That said, the big question is how the game will balance fresh ideas with the expectations of longtime fans. After six entries, the formula is well-loved but also well-worn, and features like the reworked military system and council politics will need to genuinely impact the flow of gameplay to avoid feeling like small tweaks. The series has always walked a fine line between accessibility and depth, and it will be interesting to see if these additions manage to satisfy both new players and veterans who have already sunk hundreds of hours into managing their tropical empires.
From a presentation standpoint, the demo was impressive. The engine enhancements showed off more detailed environments and larger playable areas, with vibrant archipelagos that feel more alive than in previous entries and which can be molded to your liking. The signature humor is still intact as well, with Penultimo’s antics returning and the political satire as sharp as ever. While the new nemesis Victoria Guerra only featured briefly during our session, she seems poised to inject some fresh narrative energy into the campaign.
Still, the bar is undeniably high. Tropico 6 was stretched far with its DLC support, and fans will expect Tropico 7 to feel like a genuine leap forward rather than a re-skin of what’s come before. If terraforming, politics, and the military systems all deliver, it could be exactly the refresh the series needs – but it’s clear that expectations are as tall as the mountains you’ll now be able to level.
Press Play Media 