Cleopatra is one of the most well-known rulers of ancient Egypt, and soon you'll be able to play a different version of her in Sid Meier's Civilization VI.
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, is the third leader (or more precisely, a persona. More on this below) to be added with the Rulers of the Sahara DLC, alongside Ramses II (also from Egypt) and Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire.
You may be thinking "but Cleopatra is the leader of Egypt in the base game, why are they selling her as DLC?" That's because this is a different version. As a Ptolemaic queen, Cleopatra's culture is basically in the middle between Egyptian and Hellenistic. The founder of the dynasty was Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general and bodyguard of Alexander the Great.
While Cleopatra's persona included in the base game is inspired by Egypt, this one is more leaning toward her Hellenistic nature. It's certainly visible in her outfit featuring a style closer to ancient Greece's.
The DLC will release on February 16, so there are just a few days before you can use its rulers in the game.
If you'd like to see what this version of Cleopatra looks like and get a sample of her voiceovers, a teaser trailer was released today, and you can watch it below.
Ptolemaic Cleopatra is part of the ongoing Leaders Pass which started with the Great Negotiators pack released at the end of November 2022, including President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, Nzinga Mbande queen of Kongo, and Sultan Saladin of Arabia. The second pack was the Great Commanders pack including Nader Shah of Persia, Tokugawa of Japan, and Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. The third was the Rulers of China DLC and it included Wu Zetian, Quin Shi Huang, and Yongle.
The Rulers of the Sahara pack won't be the last, as the Great Builders pack will include Theodora (Byzantines), Sejong (Korea), and Ludwig II (Germany), while the Rulers of England pack will be the last and it'll include Elizabeth I (England), Varangian Harald Hardrada (Norway), and Victoria – Age of Steam (England).
You should keep in mind that some leaders in these DLC are locked behind their civilizations, so you may need additional packages to use them all. Sundiata Keita is one of these, as you need the Gathering Storm expansion to be able to play as him.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI is currently available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, on top of a mobile version.
