Stellaris
Real-time grand strategy about building and shaping a galactic empire
Paradox Development Studio · Published by Paradox Interactive · Released May 9, 2016
- Reviews
- Very Positive
- 86% of 197K
- Recent reviews
- Mostly Positive
- 76% of 428 in 30 days
- Playing now
- 8,422
- right now
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Last update
- 6 days ago
- Sep 17, 2026
Metacritic: 78/100 (critic reviews)
What is Stellaris?
A real-time-with-pause grand strategy and 4X game set in a procedurally generated galaxy. You direct an interstellar civilization, survey systems with science ships, build stations, develop your society, meet alien species, form alliances, and wage wars.
For you if...
- +you enjoy complex strategy with pausable real-time play
- +you like experimenting in open-ended space sandboxes
- +you want both solo and cross-platform multiplayer campaigns
Not for you if...
- −you want a strategy game that is quick to learn
- −you prefer guided objectives to open-ended sandbox play
What players say
86% of 197,284 reviews are positive · 76% of 428 in the last 30 days
Players praise the emergent storytelling, civilization customization, replayability, and mod support. Recent complaints focus on the cost and volume of DLC, frequent system reworks, bugs, and late-game performance.
Screenshots and trailer
Stellaris system requirements
As published by the developer.
Minimum
- OS
- Windows® 10 Home 64 Bit
- Processor
- Intel® iCore™ i3-530 or AMD® FX-6350
- Graphics
- Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 460 or AMD® ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 (1GB VRAM), or AMD® Radeon™ RX Vega 11 or Intel® HD Graphics 4600
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 10 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 9.0c
- Notes
- Controller support: 3-button mouse, keyboard and speakers. Special multiplayer requirements: Internet Connection
Recommended
- OS
- Windows® 10 Home 64 Bit
- Processor
- Intel® iCore™ i5-3570K or AMD® Ryzen™ 5 2400G
- Graphics
- Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 560 Ti (1GB VRAM) or AMD® Radeon™ R7 370 (2 GB VRAM)
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 10 GB available space
- DirectX
- Version 12
- Notes
- Controller support: 3-button mouse, keyboard and speakers. Special multiplayer requirements: Internet Connection
PC version details
DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.
- DRM
- None declared on Steam
- Controller
- Keyboard and mouse
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Achievements
- 219
- Steam features
- Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Steam Deck: Playable
- The launcher or setup tool may need the touchscreen or virtual keyboard
- Default controller config not fully functional
- Sometimes shows mouse, keyboard or non-Deck controller icons
- Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
- In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
- Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
Multiplayer and co-op
Languages
Text only: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean.
Tags
- Space
- Strategy
- Grand Strategy
- Sci-fi
- 4X
- Exploration
- Sandbox
- Simulation
- Multiplayer
- Real-Time with Pause
- Singleplayer
- Moddable
- Management
- Diplomacy
- Military
- Futuristic
Recent updates
- Sep 17, 2026 · Stellaris Dev Diary #433 - 4.5 'Cygnus' Preliminary Release Notes
- Aug 13, 2026 · Stellaris 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta Update 5 (bc43)
- Jul 15, 2026 · Stellaris 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta Update 4 (e6fd)
- Jul 10, 2026 · Stellaris 4.5 'Cygnus' Open Beta Update 3 (aa56)
- Jul 9, 2026 · Stellaris 4.4.6 hotfix released (fdde)
32 DLC available.
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