The story-concluding Galactic Civilizations 3 expansion Retribution will go live on Steam on February 21, Stardock announced today, bringing with it powerful new technologies, two new civilizations, and a campaign of annihilation against a foe who picked a fight with the wrong bunch of guys. 

Uncovering artifacts scattered throughout the galaxy will grant instant access to new abilities, Stardock said, while the ability to create hypergates will enable fleets to transit rapidly across the stars. New supply ships can deliver resources that will assist the development of your worlds, and a new tech tree "adds depth and sharpens the strategic choices in your research options."  

The Drath and Korath civilizations each brings unique abilities and bonuses to the game, and speaking of civilizations, how about that Drengin Empire? The Retribution release date announcement makes it sound like the people of Earth have had just about enough of their crapola: "The malevolent Drengin Empire made a terrible mistake underestimating humanity’s strength, and the climactic battle that will follow may end in their extinction." 

Stardock said Retributions is the biggest expansion yet for Galactic Civilizations 3, which has been around since 2015, and given that it will apparently wrap up the backstory, I wouldn't be surprised if it's also the last. It's now available for wishlisting on Steam. 

The Humble Store Spring Sale has now been underway for about a week, and that apparently means that it's time for a new free game. For the next two days, Stardock's Galactic Civilization 2: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game and the Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor expansions, is yours for the taking if you want it. 

Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords was originally released in 2006, but the great thing about strategy games is that as they get older, they tend to get better: The graphics will obviously be dated, but updates and expansions can mean significantly better experiences may be had years after a game first comes out. In fact, GalCiv2 got a surprise update in 2015 that made major improvements to gameplay, races, and AI, and even tuned up the graphics a bit. 

Galactic Civilizations 2: Ultimate Edition will be free until 1 pm ET on May 19. The Humble Store Spring Sale goes until May 24.   

A new Galactic Civilizations 3 expansion called Intrigue brings what sounds like a touch of Civilization to the 4X interstellar empire-building game. It adds 20 styles of planetary government, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, new special events called Crises to deal with, a new "Commonwealth" status and options for your outer worlds, a Galactic Market, and a Galactic News Network that will deliver word of treaties, war, and other important current events. 

"In Intrigue, once you settle your second planet, your people begin to demand some sort of government that recognizes that you have a significant offworld population. This adds a completely new element to the Galactic Civilizations that fans know and love," Stardock CEO Brad Wardell explained.

"You could rule democratically, but then you need to make sure to win your elections. Or you could just enslave your working class under an Owner Aristocracy, and the opinions of your people don't matter. You just have to deal with some potential civil unrest." 

Governments and crises won't just enrich your empire and annoy your citizens: They can also lead to rewards including new ships included with the expansion that aren't obtainable through other means.   

Stardock also released the GalCiv3 3.0 update, free for all players, adding adjustable tax rates, tourism, farming, and a "substantially increased" likelihood of extreme worlds, which sounds like it might actually be a good thing. "Certain species can now colonize particular worlds without tech," Stardock explained. "For example, carbon-based lifeforms can settle on a corrosive planet, but synthetic life cannot." 

The full rundown of the Galactic Civilizations 3 3.0 update is available on the Stardock forums. The game is also on sale on Steam until 1 pm ET on April 13 (that's tomorrow) for $14/£11/€13, while the Intrigue expansion goes for $20/£16/€20.   

Welcome to our round up of the best 4X games on PC. Ever since the term '4X' was coined for the original Master of Orion, we’ve been Exploring, Expanding, Exploiting, and Exterminating our way through fantasy, history, and the depths of space. The genre has seen something of a renaissance in the last half decade, and while it’s great to have options, there’s also a lot to sort through. 

Not every 4X game is for everyone, so we’ve taken a look at all the major players to enter the stage in recent years and why you might, or might not, want to play them.

Dominions 5

Let's start with an unusual one. Dominions 5 is a 4X game about warring gods and their fantastical armies. You start by designing your deity, which could be a raging dragon or a mystical inanimate rock. Turn by turn you muster armies, recruit wizards to research apocalyptic magic spells, and fend off the attentions of other pretender gods. 

Dominions' visuals are... old school, let's say. You need to dig into the community and get some decent user-made maps but, once you've done that and scanned the manual you'll find a detailed strategy game that generates mad stories. I'm used to controlling spaceships and cavalry in 4X games, only in Dominions can I send an alliance of satyrs, wyverns, elemental spirits and ghosts off to fight some atlanteans. The AI is easily to beat once you have played a few games but the game thrives in multiplayer about other people.

Who's it for: Players happy to get past primitive visuals to unpick a detailed magic system and command dazzling and varied factions.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

A unique blend of 4X and RTS set in space, Rebellion is more fast-paced than most of the games on this list. It’s a standalone expansion, but also the definitive version of Sins currently available—so you don’t need to worry about grabbing the original to have a good time.

Who it’s for: Existing RTS fans who want to branch out into 4X, and players who like to get to the action fast and maintain a challenging pace. This one may be a little chaotic for the turn-based armchair generals of the world.

Fallen Enchantress 

This turn-based fantasy 4X revolves heavily around Hero characters and a faction leader called a sovereign who can go on RPG-style quests and be used in many aspects of empire management, not just limited to combat.

Who it’s for: Classic RPG fans will feel right at home with the quest system, and the customizable fantasy armies are likely to appeal to tabletop miniature painters of the Warhammer and Hordes persuasions.

Endless Space

One of the most intriguing aspects of the universe in which Endless Space (and its sequel) are set is the mythology behind it. Much revolves around the ancient empire known as the Endless, and the quasi-magical Dust they left behind.Who it’s for: A good all-around entry level space 4X that will also challenge experienced players, and holds added appeal for anyone who wants to unravel facets of a mysterious, pre-written story while dominating the galaxy. It’s also available for beans now that ES2 is in Early Access.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 5 

If we could crown a king of 4X, Sid Meier’s Civilization would have little competition for that throne. Taking one of an armload of civilizations from the ancient to the modern age while competing for various victory conditions, this is the series that has championed the genre for years.

Who it’s for: Even with Civ VI out, Civilization V frequently goes on sale for absurdly low prices, so if you’re not sure you’ll like the series and just want to try it out without dropping the full $60 on the new one, by all means take advantage. It’s certainly an excellent, entertaining game in its own right, particularly with the Brave New World expansion. Plus, the mod scene is excellent.

Europa Universalis IV 

While most of the other games on this list put you in a randomly-generated world or galaxy, EU4 is built on an extremely in-depth recreation of Earth between the years of 1444 and 1821. You can lead any nation on the planet, from France to the Comanche, through centuries of colonization, exploration, and technological discovery.

Who it's for: Considering it’s the highest review score I’ve ever given out, it’s almost easier who to ask who it’s not for. The complexity of the simulation and sprawl of interlocking systems for trade, war, and diplomacy might intimidate newcomers to 4X and grand strategy, but EU4’s interface and tooltips do an excellent job of helping you wade into the shallow end and get a feel for the water.

Eador: Masters of the Broken World 

Taking the role of a demigod battling others of your ilk for control of the shards (all that’s left of the eponymous broken world), Eador is another 4X game that’s hard to categorize. It features 4X, RPG, and board game-like, tactical turn-based elements.

Who it’s for: Eador’s greatest strength might just be how different its setup is compared to most other 4X games. The breaking of the game world into shards, which each behave like a smaller version of a strategic map in a game like Total War or Crusader Kings, means you’ll enjoy it if you’re looking for something a bit different than the standard map conquest or flipping largely static planets in a vast expanse of space to your color.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth

Taking the Civilization formula into space, Beyond Earth casts you as the head of one of the first human colonies on an alien planet. You guide its development and compete with other colonial concerns using mechanics that will feel highly familiar if you’ve played Civ 5.Who it’s for: Beyond Earth is, in my opinion, a bit of a misstep in the Civ series, lacking elements that drive its siblings to success. While it has some cool things going for it, like a nonlinear tech system that allows you to evolve your futuristic technology in a number of distinct directions, it ultimately feels like a high budget Civ 5 mod that didn’t hold my interest for more than a couple dozen hours.

Endless Legend

Similar to its sci-fi counterpart Endless Space, the unfolding fantasy epic of Endless Legend takes place in a richly realized world with character and backstory to spare. Civilizations are highly customizable, and each presents distinct opportunities.

Who it’s for: We awarded Endless Legend a Commendation for Design in 2014. It has its foundation in the time-tested elements that make 4X what it is, but is unafraid to build on and remix them in ways that will especially interest long-time players who might be suffering from genre fatigue. Beyond that, anyone just wanting to explore a rich and interesting new fantasy setting won’t be at all disappointed.

Warlock II: The Exiled

Warlock is pretty close to what I’d imagine a well-done fantasy overhaul of Civilization might look like. It makes good use of neutral factions on the map to be more than just an early-game annoyance.

Who it’s for: Due to its relative simplicity and adherence to genre norms, this is a fairly welcoming first step for those wanting to branch out into fantasy 4X from other subgenres. It also has a sharper sense of humor than its more dour, grandiose counterparts like Endless Legend and Fallen Enchantress.

Distant Worlds: Universe

Allowing you to discover the stars in a pausable, real-time galaxy, Distant Worlds features one of the more robust models of a civilian economy (which can run on auto-pilot while you handle the political stuff) I’ve seen in a 4X game.

Who it’s for: Aside from just being an overall well-designed 4X, Distant Worlds will have a special appeal for those who like to focus on exploration. This is because it really succeeds where so many other sci-fi games have failed: it makes space feel really, really big.

Star Ruler 2

Similar to Sins of a Solar Empire, Star Ruler 2 is a bit of a 4X/RTS hybrid. It boasts quite in-depth systems for diplomacy and planetary development.

Who it’s for: This one skews toward the higher end of the complexity scale, and the sheer amount of fine control you have over its systems might be intimidating to newcomers. If you’re looking for gigantic, animated space battles, however, it may be worth your time to wrap your head around it.

Galactic Civilizations III 

Galactic Civilizations has cemented itself as the other 'blockbuster' contender in the 4X space, and GalCiv III is the most polished and extravagant entry to date.Who it’s for: If you’re sick of cookie-cutter victory conditions, one of the most positive changes GalCiv 3 made to the series’ formula was turning victory into a set of objectives you can pick and choose from. So even two different runs going for the same victory condition might look different.

Stellaris

Stellaris takes Paradox’s historical formula and blasts it to the stars where you’ll manage military, political, and economic aspects of your space empire.Who it’s for: Fans of historical grand strategy will feel at home in Stellaris, but for those used to more traditional 4X, it takes some getting used to. There’s a much heavier focus on politics, with elements like your form of government and the will of your citizens playing a large role.

Master of Orion

The most recent in the lauded Master of Orion series doesn’t do much we haven’t seen before, but it plays the old hits well and wraps them in stratospheric production value and some big name sci-fi voice talent.Who it’s for: Despite being so new, MoO is bog standard 4X. Not much has changed here since its 1996 predecessor other than the graphics. That does make it a nice starting point for total newbies, but the real draw is hearing John de Lancie lament the war that's brewing between his empire and yours.

Endless Space 2

Endless Space 2 builds on some of the best ideas of its predecessor, this time crafting more unique story content for each of the distinct interstellar empires.Who it’s for: It shouldn’t surprise you at this point in the list that connoisseurs of interactive storytelling should jump for anything that says 'Endless' on it. Endless Space 2 is also arguably a better starting point for newcomers than the first one, as it’s made lots of improvements to your ability to access important, contextual information.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Civilization VI emerges from its chrysalis to reveal the most transformative and fresh take on the series in its storied history. Also, it has Sean Bean.

Who it’s for: Just about anyone who enjoys turn-based strategy. It presents lots of new challenges and opportunities even for the most weathered series veterans, but also remains among the most inviting 4X games for first-timers.

Galactic Civilizations 3, the sprawling 4X space strategy game, is more than two years old but it's still getting regular updates. In the summer it got an expansion, Crusade, with a new campaign, and in September the UI and economy improvements from Crusade were integrated into the base game. A new update out this week improves the AI, slashes load times, and fixes a host of annoying crashes during the end game and multiplayer matches.

The AI changes are probably the most meaningful: computer-controlled opponents will now engage in what developer Stardock calls "procedural planet building". Essentially, the AI will look at the state of the galaxy and its empire and then prioritise what to build on its planets. If it's running low on food then it will focus on farm improvements, for example. 

The Triumph of the Fans update, as the name suggests, also adds a lot of fan-requested features, such as making planetary improvements more destructible and adding the ability to toggle between turn number and date.

The developer has also changed the way the game manages data, which has sped up load times and eliminated conflicts with certain anti-virus programmes. It has also fixed crashes that were happening during both the endgame and multiplayer. Players were apparently getting desynced at turn 200 in multiplayer, which sounds like it would be infuriating, and that thankfully won't happen any more. Basically, if you were plagued by performance problems, now might be a good time to strap back in.

You can view the full change log here. Fans of the game: what else would you like to see tweaked?

For those of you who don't yet have enough Humble Bundles in your lives, the new one from Stardock is really quite good. For a minimum of $1, you'll get Sorcerer King: Rivals, Fallen Enchantress, The Political Machine 2016, and The Corporate Machine. That's a really good deal for a dollar. But it's only the beginning. 

Beating the average price, which for now is still well south of $6, and you'll also claim Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Galactic Civilizations 3, and Fallen Enchantress Ultimate Edition. And for $15, Offworld Trading Company, Galactic Civilization 3: Crusade Expansion Pack, and Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation will be piled on top.

It's obviously a strategy-heavy bundle, but it's a heck of a deal if that's your cup of fun. Picking it up will also net you ten percent off of a new Humble Monthly subscription, if you're not already signed up to that program. The Humble Stardock Bundle will be available until October 24. 

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Galactic Civilizations 3, Stardock’s gargantuan space 4X game, got another update this week, bolstering the base game with some of the Crusade expansion’s UI and design changes, along with general performance and balance tweaks.

Crusade lavished improvements upon Galactic Civilizations 3, and while you’ll still need to shell out for the expansion to see most of them, some important ones have been ported over to the base game. 

The UI, from the tech screen to the ship list, has been upgraded, and it now contains the convenient summary tab from Crusade. The way resources work has also been taken from the expansion. Now, resources generate over time, instead of mined resources yielding only a single unit. Crusade’s performance and AI enhancements have also been brought over too.

Even if you’ve already got Crusade, you should notice improved performance, trickier AI opponents and faster turns.

Here are the full patch notes. 

Do you like space, Ace? More to the point, do you like going into space and blowing things up? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions (and particularly the second one), then perhaps you'd like to take a look at the new Humble Intergalactic Bundle, which offers up to seven games, for $1 to $15—plus a free copy of Galactic Civilizations 1 just for signing up. 

The $1 entry-level tier gets you Space Hulk Ascension, Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, and Galactic Civilization 2: Ultimate Edition, and there are certainly worse ways to spend a buck than that. If you're feeling generous, you can pay more than the average—which at the moment will cost you a little more than $6—and you'll also get Planetary Annihilation: Titans and Rebel Galaxy. And finally, at the $15 price point (or more, if you really want to make it rain), you'll get the excellent Galactic Civilizations 3 and Offworld Trading Company too. 

That is, as I like to say, a solid deal: GalCiv 3 goes for double the cost of the full bundle, and Offworld Trading Company is priced even higher. Doing a solid for charity—in this case, the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, and Direct Relief—is always nice too, and on top of all that you get a ten percent break on Humble Monthly subscriptions, too. The Humble Intergalactic Bundle will be available until April 25.

Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.

Stardock has announced that the second Galactic Civilizations 3 expansion, called Crusade, will be out this spring. The add-on will include a graphics engine update, a new campaign, new aliens (including "cybernetic space amoebas"), and several embellishments to GalCiv 3's galaxy conquering toolset.

One of the big changes is the addition of 'galactic citizens,' who will pop into existence every few turns and can be trained for special roles. New interactive invasions, for instance, will put citizens trained as soldiers to use. "Invaders choose where they will land and defenders will choose where they will resist, both decisions requiring considerable strategic thinking," reads the press release.

Other citizen roles, which there are "over a dozen" of, include scientist, engineer, farmer, diplomat, merchant, spy. Citizens trained as spies will "destroy planetary improvements, steal technology or assassinate enemy agents."

Finally, Crusade will add the Civilization Builder, an in-game tool for designing custom factions. It'll include Steam Workshop support for easy access to the GalCiv community's wealth of shared ship designs. See what it looks like below.

Crusade will go for $20 when it releases this spring, and requires a copy of Galactic Civilizations 3. There's more info on the expansion's official site, and Stardock will be livestreaming on Twitch today starting at 11am PT/2pm ET, which you can catch in the player below. And below that, some new screenshots.

Stardock's space strategy game Galactic Civilizations 3 has undergone some big changes courtesy of the newly-released 2.0 update, including the addition of a new resource, Starbase Administrators, who are now required in order to construct starbases. Stardock said the admins, which will be available in restricted amounts, will make small empires viable by reducing the pressure to crank starbases out in large numbers. 

Diplomacy has also been reworked to improve the AI's ability to determine the quality of trade offers and react accordingly, while the Ship Builder interface has been changed to simplify navigation while simultaneously providing more information in the shipyard window, including currency, morale, and population. 

"Version 2.0 is the culmination of many months of working closely with our community on the kinds of features players like but often don't get a lot of attention," Stardock boss Brad Wardell said. "The diplomatic AI is more sophisticated and plays a lot like a human would both in terms of trading and how they deal with the complex web of foreign relations. We also added a new concept called administration that is designed to let players have smaller empires that are competitive."   

To mark the release of the Galactic Civilization 3 2.0 update, Stardock has both the base game and the Gold bundle on sale on Steam until January 30. A full list of the changes in the update is below.

 Administrators 

• Starbases now require one "Administrator" to build
• Number of starting Administrators depends on galaxy size
• Research certain Government Technologies to increase the number of Administrators
• Current number of available Administrators can be seen on the resource bar or the starbase list tab

Diplomacy

• General pass on conversation weights such that the AI will talk more and offer more interesting trades
• AI players who dislike you will charge you more in diplomacy
• Changed diplomacy attitude label from "allied" to "loves (they're not allied)
• Changed diplomacy attitude from label "war" to "hates" (they're not at war)
• AI should be better at focusing on a given weapon or defense tech rather than trying to research multiple paths
• AIs will heavily weight their relations with other players based on who is at war with whom and why
• AIs will tend to come to the aid of their friends even if the enemy is more powerful
• AI now has the capability of explaining in detail why they rejected (or accepted) a trade offer (though will require translation of new strings)
• AI will use a redlining system of evaluating proposals such that each sub-AI routine will add marks to the proposal with potential veto power
• AI now has the capability of explaining in detail why they rejected (or accepted) a trade offer
• By default, the auto-generated military ships will have their categories folded for easier UI navigation

Balance

• Home planet production points base increased from 1 to 10
• Significantly reduced starbase spacing radius to 2 tiles, allowing you cluster them closer together
• AI is substantially better at evaluating what ship to build, when and where
• Early game improvements made less expensive
• Late game improvement benefits reduced slightly
• Research improvements have been rebalanced

UI Improvements / Bug Fixes

• By default, the auto-generated military ships will have their categories folded for easier UI navigation
• When a player designs a ship, it will, by default, be added to the favorites
• Added the currency, morale, population, and turns information to the planet and shipyard window
• Changed Terran and "space monster" fighters size from small to tiny, matching the sizes for other factions. This change prevents a crash in the ROT campaign
• Map Editor: Fixed a problem that prevented the Mini-map Preview from working.
• Replaced Diplomatic Specialization 3 to be "Efficient Administration" on all trees (Base Game and Campaigns)
• Fixed bad Matter Disruption Cost multiplier that was making Matter Disruption 2.6 times more expensive than it should have been
• Changed the width of the asteroid tooltip window and "nearest owned planet" value so that the value can no longer overlap
• Negative Strategic resources are no longer shown in the trade options when they were negative
• Updated map lighting settings to decreased ambient light and increased key light to make the ships look less flat
• Mercenaries: Ships that you can't afford are greyed out
• Fixed issue where Ancient Kinetic Augmenter had weapon FX even though it is a support module
• Removed military ring Starbase range boost now that we have implemented Administrators
• Fixed a problem that was causing rebellions in peaceful corners of the galaxy