Civilization VI for iPad is here, but you won't buy it

Civilization VI – the latest game in the immensely popular Civilization series and one of our best games of 2016 – is arriving on iPad today. This appears to be a port of the full game, which will be exciting for mobile gamers who are used to pared back mobile ports of console and PC games. The price Aspyr Media and 2K Games are asking for, on the other hand, likely won't be very exciting.

While many of us expect publishers and developers to drop price a bit in porting games over to mobile devices, Aspyr isn't doing that for this port of Civilization VI. You'll need to pay a full $60 if you want to own this port on iPad, which is probably far more than most mobile users are willing to pay.

If you do decide that Civ VI on iPad is worth the money, it looks like you'll be getting the same game that's available on PC and Mac. Graphics seem to have taken a small hit in quality in the jump from PC to iPad, but other than that, this should be a true-to-form release. It's compatible with a wide range of iPad models, too, including the 5th-gen iPad and all models of iPad Pro.

If $60 is too much for you, then you're in luck (kind of). From now until January 4, Civilization VI for iPad is on sale for $30. While we're guessing that many iPad users will still have a problem with $30, at least it isn't the $60 Aspyr will be asking for after January 4.

For those of you on the fence, you can download the game now and play your first 60 turns for free. If you're not looking to drop $30 (or $60) on an iPad game, though, you probably shouldn't take Aspyr up on its offer of 60 free turns. Take it from someone who knows: You don't simply play 60 turns of a Civilization game and call it good. Civilization VI is available from today on the iOS App Store [download]