City Capacity inHumankinddetermines how many Cities a player can have without incurring any Influence penalties, and starts at 2 when they first enter the Ancient Era. While some fans may expect that number to increase automatically when they enter the Classical Era and beyond, that’s not actually the case. There are ways to increase City Cap inHumankindhowever, though they can be a little difficult to find.
Before getting into the specifics of how to raise City Cap inHumankind, it is worth mentioning thatHumankindplayerscan build more Cities than their Cap indicates. Empires that go beyond the Cap will see their Influence gains negatively impacted, though, and the penalties become harsher as more Cities are built. That said, if a player is earning a reasonable amount of Influence, they may want to sacrifice a bit of it in order to expand past their current City Capacity.
Updated June 25, 2025 by John Higgs:Humankind’s first DLC pack, the Cultures of Africa, released earlier this year. The pack added six new Cultures for players to choose from, one for each of the game’s Eras. Many of the new African Cultures are focused on expansion, and players will need to manage their City Capacity effectively to spread their Empire far and wide. In particular, the Bantu will need to raise their City Cap as quickly as possible as they use their Mupíà Fields Emblematic Quarter to convert Outposts into Cities. The Garamantes will also benefit from an increased City Cap, as their Desert in Bloom Trait buffs the Main Plaza in each City with additional Influence.
How to Increase City Capacity in Humankind
Technologies
The most basic way to raise theHumankindCity Capin this4x gameis to research certain Technologies from the Tech Tree. More specifically, there are a total of five Technologies that grant bonus City Capacity when researched, one for each of the game’s Eras past the Ancient. For players who are looking to expand their Empire, here is a list of all the Technologies that award City Cap:
Civics
Players can also earn +1 City Capacity by selecting the Small Council option when addressing the Leadership Civic. However,strategy game fansshould spend some time considering if that option promotes the ideology that they are envisioning for their Empire before they pick it, as it will push them away from Authority and toward Liberty. Additionally, selecting Small Council will put players on the path to the Political Entitlement Civic, which will require them to choose between a Tradition and Liberty option.
Alternative Ways to Increase City Capacity in Humankind
Legacy Trait
An alternative way to increase City Cap is to adopt the culture of the Achaemenid Persians in order to earn their Legacy Trait. The Persians’ Trait grants +2 City Capacity, and players can select their culture when entering theClassical Era inHumankind. Adopting an entire culture is certainly a bigger commitment than simply researching a technology, though, and players may want to let this bonus pass them by if there is another option that they are more interested in.
Combine Event
The final way to increaseCity Cap inHumankindis through the Combine event, which has a chance to occur at any point after the Industrial Era. The event will ask players ofanyHumankindculturewhether they’d like to allow or prohibit the citizens of one of their Cities to form a governmental committee. Choosing the prohibit option will increase the City Cap by 1, as well as moving the Empire toward Authority.
Humankindis available on PC and Stadia.
MORE:Humankind: Every Contemporary Culture And Its Benefits
