Do you mean he never acknowledged Empire as an inspiration? This article mentions him admitting that: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/sid-meier-tells-civ

Do you mean he never acknowledged Empire as an inspiration? This article mentions him admitting that: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/sid-meier-tells-civilizations-origin-story-cites-childrens-history-books/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/sid-meier-tells-civil... Additionally, I'm like 75% sure I remember him mentioning Empire at a GDC talk.