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Expand your empire, advance your culture and go head-to-head against history’s greatest leaders. Will your civilization stand the test of time?

How to use this key

It redeems on Microsoft Store. Never used it? Everything is below, from making the account to playing.

What you need

A free Microsoft account and a Windows 10 or 11 PC (the Microsoft Store is already on it).

Region: Universal

Step 1Make a free Microsoft accountAlready done? Skip this.

Open the sign-up page
Go to signup.live.com — or use the account you already sign in to Windows, Outlook or Xbox with.
Fill in the form and confirm your email
Email, password, name, country and date of birth.

Step 2Activate your key

Open the redeem page
Go to redeem.microsoft.com and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Enter the 25-character key and press Next
No dashes needed. Then confirm.
Install from the Microsoft Store
On your PC, open the Microsoft Store, go to Library and press Install on the game.

Or, in the Microsoft Store app, select your profile (top right) › Redeem code or gift cards.

Good to know

A key works once, on the account you are signed in to when you activate it, and cannot be moved to another account afterwards. Check whose account is open first.
Paste the key rather than typing it — 0 and O, 1 and I are easy to mix up.

Stuck on a step? Message us and we will walk you through it.