Stellaris ▶ Trailer
Stellaris screenshot 1Stellaris screenshot 2
SimulationStrategySpaceGrand StrategySci-fi4XExploration

8,633 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 11,581

Peak in the last 7 days: 15,944

Stellaris Steam store

Game description

Explore a galaxy full of wonders in this sci-fi grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studios. Interact with diverse alien races, discover strange new worlds with unexpected events and expand the reach of your empire. Each new adventure holds almost limitless possibilities.

Basic info

DeveloperParadox Development Studio
PublisherParadox Interactive
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateMay 9, 2016
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows® 10 Home 64 Bit
ProcessorIntel® iCore™ i3-530 or AMD® FX-6350
Memory4 GB
GraphicsNvidia® GeForce™ GTX 460 or AMD® ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 (1GB VRAM), or AMD® Radeon™ RX Vega…
Storage10 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 410 reviews from the past 1 year

71.9/ 100
Bottom 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (86%)

Metacritic: 78 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 13, 2026)

Loved for years but now frustrating, Stellaris draws 119 reviews of devotion and many about its DLC; it holds 71.9 from 197,390 Steam reviews.

👍 Strengths

119 reviews say they love it and cannot get enough. Content Volume ranks 120th of 1351, and players describe every playthrough feeling different thanks to diverse species and governments, plus mods that add even more. Story & World ranks 421st of 1096, and some remember falling for its romantic vision of space exploration. A few say the tutorial is clear.

👎 Where it falls short

Pricing & Fairness ranks 1335th of 1399, and comes up in 47% of analyzed reviews. 108 reviews criticize the DLC, the most upvoted objecting to the publisher using generative AI in expensive packs. 53 say a recent balance patch made unbalanced playstyles worse, and 38 criticize the developer's frequent reworks, saying they break the game instead of improving it. Tech & Support ranks 1197th of 1399, with complaints about late game lag and game breaking bugs, including in paid content.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“loved the game, can't get enough of it” · 119 reviews
“great replayability with mods adding 300% content” · 15 reviews
“once loved the romantic vision of space exploration” · 13 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 48% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +2.73 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “great replayability with mods adding 300% content” · 15 reviews
Negative “game doesn't follow expected diplomatic strategy depth” · 3 reviews

Progression 10% · Difficulty 4% · Onboarding 14% · Freedom 12% · Controls & feel 6%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 19% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.05 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “once loved the romantic vision of space exploration” · 13 reviews
Negative “parliaments and galactic communities are boring” · 1 review

Story 4% · Characters 1%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 26% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +3.64 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “massive amount of content to explore and master” · 9 reviews

Variety 10% · Replayability 8%

Graphics, art style, music and sound

Not enough data — only 6% of reviews mention this.

Visuals +1.50 · Graphics, art style, and animation

Audio 3%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Community +2.87 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly
Positive “mods and modding community save the game” · 2 reviews

Playing together 7% · Servers & Connection 6%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 47% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -1.15 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “company uses generative AI for expensive DLC instead of ethical practices” · 108 reviews
Positive “best Paradox game when bundled with relevant DLCs” · 1 review

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 24% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 43% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.47 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “monthly reworks break the game and don't improve it” · 38 reviews
Positive “constant free updates and new content for 10 years” · 7 reviews

Stability 17% · Performance 18%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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