New civilizations such as Austria, Byzantium, Carthage, the Celts, Ethiopia, the Huns, the Maya, the Netherlands and Sweden
9 new wonders (Terracotta Army, the Great Mosque of Djenne, Hubble Space Telescope)
13 new buildings (Bomb Shelter, Constabulary, Police Station, Shrine)
27 new units (Cataphract, Gatling Gun, Hussar, Horse Archer, Landship, Privateer, Triplane)
Reintroduces religions to the series including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Tengrism and Zoroastrianism
New scenarios: Into the Renaissance, Fall of Rome and Empires of the Smoky Skies
New types of city-states, religious and mercantile
Enhanced Diplomacy and Espionage operations
Reworked combat system and AI
Changed naval combat system. Naval units are split into two different types, melee and ranged.