Stellaris (video game)

Stellaris is a science fiction grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Released in 2016, it allows players to control a spacefaring civilization from its early stages of interstellar exploration to galactic dominance, empire management, or even its own destruction.

Gameplay centers around exploring a procedurally generated galaxy, encountering other alien empires, managing resources, conducting research, engaging in diplomacy and warfare, and making choices that shape the player civilization's ethics, government, and technological advancement.

Key features of Stellaris include:

• Empire Customization: Players can tailor their civilization's government, ethics, civics, origins, and species traits, creating unique playstyles and strategic advantages.
• Dynamic Galaxy: The galaxy is dynamically generated at the start of each game, offering a fresh experience with varied star systems, resources, and alien civilizations.
• Research and Technology: A vast tech tree allows players to research technologies that unlock new ship types, buildings, government forms, and strategic options.
• Diplomacy and Federations: Players can engage in diplomacy with other empires, forming alliances, federations, or rivalries.
• Warfare: Combat involves designing fleets of warships, engaging in real-time space battles, and conquering or subjugating enemy empires.
• Crises: Endgame crises, such as extragalactic invasions or synthetic uprisings, can threaten the entire galaxy, forcing players to cooperate or compete for survival.
• Ethics and Ideologies: A civilization's ethics influence its interactions with other empires and its internal policies. Different ethics grant bonuses and limitations.
• Civics and Government: Civics and government forms provide unique bonuses and influence a civilization's playstyle. These can be modified throughout the game.
• Origins: Origins define a civilization's backstory and starting conditions, impacting their initial advantages and challenges.
• Modding Support: Stellaris has extensive modding support, allowing players to create and share custom content such as new species, technologies, and even entire gameplay overhauls.

Stellaris has received numerous expansions and downloadable content (DLC) packs that add new features, gameplay mechanics, and narrative content, further expanding the game's depth and replayability. The game is known for its complex and intricate systems, strategic depth, and emergent storytelling.